After five weeks of living out of suitcases and winning in hostile arenas, the Stormers finally get to breathe South African air again, just in time for the Stormers vs La Rochelle Match in Gqeberha. It is Champions Cup round two, a meeting laced with history and heavy with consequence, and John Dobson’s side arrives as the tournament’s form travelers with momentum humming through every department.
Homecoming after a perfect road swing
The Stormers are unbeaten this season, top of the United Rugby Championship table, and fresh from a gritty 26-17 win at Bayonne that told you everything about their backbone. They scored 10 points in the final five minutes, having played 30 minutes of the second half with 14 men after a 20-minute red card to Adre Smith and a yellow to Leolin Zas, a comeback that Dobson called special.
That late surge in the Basque Country continued an away stretch that included victories over Scarlets, Zebre, and Benetton, along with a statement return from the November break by beating Munster at Thomond Park. “We can’t wait to play in front of our home fans,” Dobson said, adding context to the road run by noting Benetton’s year-long home streak and Bayonne’s fortress record.
“They started really fast and put us under pressure, but we defended very well. They way we came off the canvas and won, that was special.”
Selection calls that shape the contest
Dobson has rolled out a star-studded side for La Rochelle at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with nine Springboks in the starting team. Recent tourists Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Ben-Jason Dixon, and Ntuthuko Mchunu are joined by Evan Roos, André-Hugo Venter, Neethling Fouché, Warrick Gelant, and Salmaan Moerat, a spine that screams Test-level intensity.
There is a notable midfield call too. Rising 22-year-old Jonathan Roche, who featured in big assignments last season, starts at inside centre, while the experienced Ruhan Nel anchors outside. It gives Feinberg-Mngomezulu a point of contact he trusts at 12, and it rewards what coaches describe as Roche’s x-factor, defensive edge, and willingness to put his body on the line.
Up front, JD Schickerling partners captain Moerat in the second row, with Venter at hooker flanked by Mchunu and Fouché. Roos returns to the starting eight after providing impact from the bench in Bayonne, combining with Dixon and the impressive Paul de Villiers in a back row that blends speed, lineout smarts, and abrasion. The bench carries punch as well, with JJ Kotzé, Oli Kebble, Sazi Sandi, Connor Evans, Ruan Ackermann, Marcel Theunissen, Imad Khan, and Wandisile Simelane all primed to lift the tempo and sustain the set-piece standard.
The scrum battle that could decide it
La Rochelle arrive with a reputation forged on power, and the scrums will be a truth serum. Mchunu, a new Stormers signing who finally debuted in Bayonne after an injury layoff and a Springbok call-up, lit up his first outing with strong carries, heavy tackles, and clean set-piece work. He now expects to square up against French international Uini Atonio or Argentina’s Joel Sclavi, a stern test of technique and temperament.
“La Rochelle are a quality outfit. Any South African front row prides itself on the scrum, and this will be a big set-piece battle. I’m excited to test myself against some of Europe’s best,” said Mchunu.
Forwards coach Rito Hlungwani is proud of his pack, but he is also the voice of relentless standards. “Our scrum is probably at the top in the URC. Our lineout is at the top. Our mauling has been at the top,” he said, before stressing that there is still headroom to climb if they want to outmuscle La Rochelle, who “bully teams.” The Stormers are built on the same steel, and in Gqeberha they will lean on that identity again, one contest, one clean hit, one reset at a time.
A breakthrough chance for Jonathan Roche
This is a big moment for Roche. He started outside centre in Bayonne, then stepped into the No 12 jersey after Dan du Plessis suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for around two months. Dobson could have paired Nel and Wandisile Simelane, a combination that has worked this season, but opted to accelerate Roche, betting on his contact winning and defensive reading to complement Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s game management.
“We think Jonny has something special,” Dobson said of the 22-year-old. The coach highlighted the youngster’s fearless edge, the kind of quality that can shape a tight Champions Cup arm-wrestle. For a player who has already faced Racing 92 and Leinster in difficult circumstances, the chance to start in a near full-strength group feels like both a reward and an invitation to own the jersey under pressure.
Mchunu’s rise and the Stormers fit
There is a reason so many in South African rugby are excited about Mchunu’s move to Cape Town. He burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old with the Sharks, famously scorching past multiple defenders to score in the Rainbow Cup, the kind of try that had Tendai Mtawarira hailing him as “the real deal.” That blend of loose-forward past and front-row present remains visible every time he tucks the ball and goes.
His Stormers debut offered the old highlights reel and the new platform. He made 44 metres with ball in hand in Bayonne, a reminder that the Cape side’s template can amplify his strengths, while his set-piece work slotted into a culture that demands excellence. As Hlungwani put it, he is highly professional, attentive to review work, and explosive, the kind of player who can quickly become a crowd favourite at the DHL Stadium, and for now in Gqeberha, if he marries carry and craft.
“We are made to hold ourselves to our own standards,” Mchunu said of the training ground. “We must keep chasing that one per cent that we still need to get us holistically to where we want to be.”
Injury picture and reinforcements on the way
The Stormers are close to full strength, but injuries have forced some reshaping. Damian Willemse has a minor hamstring niggle and is not available this week, though he is expected back next week. Dan du Plessis is out for about two months with a knee injury, which opened the door for Roche’s start, while JL du Plessis is also unavailable at present, a cluster that has tested depth at flyhalf and midfield.
The recovery conveyor belt is encouraging. Willemse, Ruben van Heerden, and Suleiman Hartzenberg are expected back next week ahead of the United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions in Cape Town. By the back end of January, the Stormers hope to have Deon Fourie, Keke Morabe, and JL du Plessis back, with Seabelo Senatla targeted for a March return, a staggered infusion that should keep the group fresh through derby season and into the playoff push.
The rivalry in South Africa hints at another nail-biter
The recent ledger between these sides on South African soil is razor thin. The Stormers edged La Rochelle 21-20 in the pool stage of the 2023 to 2024 edition, then lost 22-21 in the last 16, both in Cape Town. Those margins whisper the same message for Saturday, expect a grind, expect swings in momentum, expect the result to be decided by one scramble tackle, one poach, one kick under pressure.
La Rochelle’s power game is no secret, and they reminded everyone of their level by beating Leicester Tigers last Sunday. The Stormers will back their set piece, their tactical kicking, and their counter-attack, with Warrick Gelant’s roaming vision and Zas’s finishing threat key ingredients if the game breaks open in transition at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
What to watch in Gqeberha
- the midfield chemistry, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Roche must click early in the carry and kick decisions,
- the breakdown race, Roos, Dixon, and De Villiers have to own contact height and tackle reloads,
- the set-piece tone, Mchunu and Fouché against a heavyweight visiting tighthead rotation will frame the night.
There are bench storylines too. Simelane’s versatility, Imad Khan’s tempo, and the ballast of Kebble and Ackermann can reshape the last quarter, especially if the first hour becomes a scrum and maul tug of war. Dobson has spoken about the need to back up the away win, and his selection suggests he wants a game of Test-match clarity, where field position, discipline, and exit accuracy are non-negotiables.
Dobson’s message and the stakes
The directive is simple. Win the home game and the Stormers will be on the brink of the EPCR playoffs after missing out last season. “We have to win our home game next week,” Dobson said in the afterglow of Bayonne, a line that lands with extra weight now that the team can finally hear South African voices lift them through the tight corners.
“We always get such fantastic support in Gqeberha,” Dobson added. He expects a game with Test match intensity, which is fitting, given the number of internationals across the sheet and the history of one-point margins. The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium has a way of making these nights feel big, and the Stormers, who have earned their perfect start the hard way, look ready to meet that moment.
Final word
Form, selection, and history all point to a contest on a knife edge. The Stormers’ unbeaten run has been built on toughness, detail, and a set-piece standard that travels, and now, with nine Boks in the starting lineup and young blades like Roche sharpening the attack, they return to their people with purpose. La Rochelle will bring the power, the shove, and the choke tackle, and the hosts will meet it with tempo, collisions, and a pack intent on taking ground, inch by inch.
In Gqeberha, the story is about a team that learned to suffer on the road and now wants to celebrate at home. If the recent duels between these sides are any guide, prepare for a breathless finish. And if the Stormers keep scaling their own standards, the sound you hear at the end might be relief and roar blending into a single South African night.
