Stormers borrow from Rassie’s playbook to steal a march on local rivals

The Springboks are coming off a five-week tour to Europe – and effectively a five-month Test season – and being asked to maintain their physical and mental standards across club tournaments such as the United Rugby Championship (URC) and European Champions Cup.

The tug-o-war between club and country was laid to bare at the end of November, when the Boks’ last Test against Wales was staged on the same weekend as the sixth round of the URC.

Those who weren’t released to their local franchises and overseas clubs for the first Champions Cup pool match last week will be in action over the coming weekend.

And it won’t get any easier for the coaches and players over the festive season.

Ten-week stretch

The present block of club fixtures stretches from 28 November to 30 January.

A couple of teams will have a break around Christmas, but those who don’t will compete for 10 straight weeks.

That’s before accounting for the preceding five-Test tour to Europe, or the five-game block of URC matches before that.

All the teams will enjoy a three-week break in February, and most of the contracted Boks will receive their mandatory annual leave – which can last up to eight weeks.

As a result, local coaches will have to make do with what players they have at a potentially defining stage of the season, regardless of how their team is faring in the race to the URC playoffs.

Knowing what lies ahead, the coaches may need to use the Boks extensively in this 10-week window, regardless of whether these individuals are fatigued or mentally burnt out.

It’s an unforgiving schedule that threatens player welfare as well as the standard of performance across these major tournaments, and it must change sooner rather than later.

Until a global season is implemented – and until there is a regular off-season where players can rest and recharge – these problems will persist.

But for now, the coaches as well as the players will have to roll with the punches.

Even spread of Boks

For all the talk of the Bulls and Sharks supplying far more Boks than any other team, the spread of Test-capped players across the top franchises has been relatively even in 2025.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus used 50 players over the course of the recent international season, with 13 players hailing from the Sharks, 11 from the Bulls, nine from the Stormers and two from the Lions.

Sixteen overseas-based players were used, and it’s significant that 10 of those Boks were based in Japan, where they are subjected to a less-demanding club schedule than others in Europe and South Africa.

More specifically, it’s interesting to note that, over the course of the recent five-Test tour to Europe, eight Bulls were used, eight Sharks, six Stormers and two Lions – while the overseas contingent numbered 14.

With that in mind, it would be fair to say that the Bulls, Sharks as well as Stormers have faced similar player-management challenges in the buildup to the present 10-week block of club matches.

And yet, one of those three teams has embraced the challenge in the early stages of the club season, and appears well placed to progress in both the URC and Champions Cup as a result.

Stormers ahead of the curve

The turnaround at the Stormers has been remarkable.

Three months ago, they appeared to be spiralling, after finishing the season as losing URC quarterfinalists (for the second consecutive year) and failing to qualify for the Champions Cup playoffs.

Fast forward to the present, where they’ve won six consecutive fixtures to strengthen their position at the top of the URC standings.

Last week, the Stormers extended their winning run to seven games, when they claimed a gritty 26-17 victory over Bayonne in France in the opening round of the Champions Cup.

The stats show how they have balanced a smart kicking game with their inherent attacking and set-piece strengths – and there’s good reason to compare John Dobson’s charges with another all-court team that is dominating the rugby headlines.

Erasmus’s Boks finished the recent Test season with more contestable kicks and kicks retained than any other tier-one nation, yet averaged 5.8 tries and 41 points a match, while their defensive stats (an average of two tries and 17 points against) were of an equally impressive standard.

It’s early days in the Champions Cup, but the Stormers’ incredible points difference (124) in the URC highlights the standard they have maintained on attack and defence, and only Cardiff have kicked more than the Cape side in the first six rounds.

Perhaps most significantly, Dobson has been borrowed a few pages from Erasmus’s playbook, favouring forward heavy benches and a healthy mix of utility players who can perform more than one role.

Regular rotation has kept the group refreshed and engaged, and Dobson – knowing that the toughest and most taxing part of the season is still ahead – has gone out of his way to field second-, third- and even fourth-choice players, alongside some of the regulars.

The Stormers boss made some smart signings in the off-season, and the move to bring Pumas utility back Clinton Swart to the Cape on a short-term deal has already paid off, when one considers how the fourth-choice flyhalf scored 16 points against Bayonne last week and steered the team to victory.

The team will be bolstered by the return of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and other Boks in the coming weeks, but it will encourage Dobson and his coaches to know that they have the depth to compete over a longer period – and crucially, at home and overseas.

The Stormers have won their past seven games, but only two of those have been staged in Cape Town. Five of their next seven matches are designated home fixtures – and only one will be played overseas.

Playing catch-up

Meanwhile, the Bulls and Sharks have looked both tired and uninspired.

Johan Ackermann and John Plumtree – who recently stepped down as Sharks head coach – have failed to strike the right balance between youth and experience in team selection, even though both franchises boast outstanding depth.

The Bulls have been undone by their poor defence and discipline, losing three of their first six URC games, as well as the home Champions Cup match against Bordeaux-Bégles last week. After leading Bordeaux 33-22 at half-time, the Bulls conceded 24 unanswered points in the second stanza.

The Sharks have won just one of their URC fixtures to date and currently languish in 14th place on the 16-team log.

They travelled to Toulouse last week without many of their big names, yet still managed to field five Boks and two former South Africa A players. While they were competitive at times, they eventually lost 56-19.

Looking ahead, the Stormers have a great opportunity to build on their early-season form.

A win against La Rochelle in Gqeberha this Saturday will increase their chances of qualifying for the Champions Cup playoffs.

And after a strong start to the URC, Dobson can afford to manage his players and share the workload over the wider squad during this 10-week block, given that there’s less pressure to win every game.

The Bulls, Sharks and Lions find themselves in a different position.

An away loss to the Northampton Saints may scupper the Bulls’ hopes of progressing to the Champions Cup knockouts.

Thereafter, they will play two away derby fixtures against the Sharks and Stormers and will be under pressure to win both – given they are currently eighth in the URC standings.

The Sharks have invested most of their energy into the Champions Cup showdown with Saracens this weekend, but will know that the following URC derby against the Bulls at Kings Park is effectively do-or-die.

If the Sharks come through the next two games with wins, they may have the opportunity to build further momentum, given that their subsequent two matches are against an erratic Lions outfit.

The Lions (seventh) are ahead of the Bulls and Sharks at this stage, but don’t have the depth of either franchise, and continue to struggle to produce consistent performances.

The Lions’ URC record sits at 50% after six games, and they may be hard pressed to improve in the coming months and qualify for the knockout rounds of this tournament for the first time. DM