8 October 2026
The DHL Stormers are preparing to host the log-leading Hollywoodbets Sharks in a highly anticipated United Rugby Championship (URC) coastal derby at DHL Stadium this Saturday. The Cape Town franchise is looking to overwrite a major glitch from last season's campaign.
John Dobson’s charges suffered consecutive defeats to the Durban outfit within a seven-day window in January. The Stormers dropped a 30-19 decision at home before losing the return leg 36-24 at Kings Park.
"It was our low point of last season losing those two games to the Sharks," Dobson said. "We had the ignominy of losing to them at home. We didn’t even get a losing bonus point at home against a team that would have been lying tenth in the log or something."
The Hollywoodbets Sharks head to the Mother City in commanding form. The visitors occupy the summit of the URC standings as the only franchise to bank maximum points from the opening two rounds. They opened their season with a 41-24 victory over the Ospreys before dispatching champions Leinster Rugby 26-20 in Durban.
"It’s a confident Sharks team," Dobson observed. "It’s Bok against Bok. It’s going to be one of those derbies."
Dobson believes his squad's mindset is completely aligned for the weekend's challenge. "Maybe last season we saw the Bulls as the big thing and were a bit soft on the Sharks," he admitted. "I am not worried about us being flat at all. It feels to me like a different group - highly motivated, focused, well led."
The hosts have loaded their starting line-up with elite international experience, naming eight Springboks in the run-out XV. National representatives including Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse, Cobus Reinach, and Paul de Villiers return to the starting mix, supported by an additional three Boks on the replacements bench.
"With the respect we are showing the derby, the respect we are showing the Sharks and on the back of last season, we have gone with the strongest team we could go," said Dobson. "We are pretty much at as full a roster as we could have hoped for."
Kick-off is locked in for 16:00 SAST on Saturday. "If you look at the quality of players across both teams, these are the guys who were doing the country so proud a few weeks ago, and now they are going toe to toe," Dobson added. "It will be the very best of South African rugby."
The tactical focus at training has centred on rebuilding a set-piece that crumbled during last weekend's 17-13 away defeat to Edinburgh Rugby. The Stormers lost 11 of their own throw-ins in Scotland, turning a dominant statistical performance into a narrow loss.
Performance metrics from that fixture were otherwise tracking upwards. "All our key stats were better than the week before against Connacht," Dobson explained, referencing tackle dominance, line speed, and post-contact metres. "There was just the one thing that went wrong."
The coaching staff expects an immediate correction at the set-piece to counter the Sharks' defensive pressure. "We will lose this game if we lose six-plus lineouts," Dobson warned. "The top two contesting teams in the competition are Edinburgh and the Sharks. It’s a challenge."