17 October 2026
Article: Melissa Nel
The DHL Stormers launched their Investec Champions Cup campaign in a gloomy Cape Town, with a clinical 49-12 demolition of the Bristol Bears at the DHL Stadium. Despite enduring a discipline crisis that saw them reduced to 13 men at one stage, the Cape side ran in seven tries to secure an emphatic bonus-point victory. Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu pulled the strings beautifully, contributing 14 points with the boot in a dominant home performance.
The hosts drew first blood inside the opening ten minutes as the fleet-footed Seabelo Senatla turned on the gas down the right-hand touchline to cross in the corner. Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras before the Cape outfit struck again from a set-piece platform. Firing the ball wide from a scrum, Leolin Zas was put into space to dot down, extending the advantage to a comfortable 14-0.
Bristol hit back in the 22nd minute when flanker Joe Owen powered through a tackle from Feinberg-Mngomezulu to score underneath the uprights. Pivot Sam Worsley slotted the conversion to cut the deficit, but the Stormers hit back almost immediately. Centre Jonathan Roche beat his defender on the outside to crash over, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu maintaining his perfect record from the tee.
Disaster struck just before the halftime whistle when hooker JJ Kotze was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle. Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed a long-range penalty from the halfway line, leaving the short-handed hosts ahead 21-7 at the break. Matters worsened in the 48th minute when Zas was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle, temporarily leaving the Stormers with just 13 men.
Bristol capitalised on the two-man advantage through Sol Moody, who sniped over from close range following a period of sustained pressure. However, the visitors botched the restart via a messy up-and-under, allowing Roche to pounce for his brace. Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the conversion from out wide to push the scoreline to 28-12 and kill off the English resurgence.
As fatigue set in in the final quarter, replacement back Warrick Gelant put the result beyond doubt by gathering a wide pass and sliding over. Replacements André-Hugo Venter and Zas added further gloss to the scoreline as the Bristol defensive line completely dissolved under relentless physical pressure. Feinberg-Mngomezulu capped off a stellar afternoon by converting the final try, sealing a comprehensive blowout in Green Point.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers: Tries: Seabelo Senatla, Leolin Zas, Jonathan Roche, Jonathan Roche, Warrick Gelant, Andre-Hugo Venter, Leolin Zas. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (7).
Bristol Bears: Tries: Joe Owen, Sol Moody. Conversion: Sam Worsley.
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo. Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant.
Bristol Bears: 15 Tobi Wilson, 14 Max Pepper, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jack Bates, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Sam Worsley, 9 Kieran Marmion (captain), 8 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Kenzie Jenkins, 6 Joe Owen, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Jimmy Halliwell, 2 Tomas Gwilliam, 1 Jake Woolmore. Replacements: 16 Sol Moody, 17 Andrew Turner, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Paddy Pearce, 21 Ollie Harris, 22 James Williams, 23 Victor Worsnip.