31 October 2026
DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson lamented a staggering first-half error rate but praised his side’s ultimate resilience after a 33-7 bonus-point United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over Ulster at DHL Stadium.
The Stormers overcame a sluggish start to score five tries through JD Schickerling, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel, and Yaqeen Ahmed, securing a clean sweep of home victories in October.
The opening hour was dominated by handling errors that heavily disrupted the hosts' attacking momentum. Despite the eventual five-try haul, the coaching staff grew visibly frustrated with the lack of execution and forced offloads in contact.
“We were on 14 knock-ons at half-time, which is just a staggering statistic,” Dobson told reporters. “One or two [offloads] we forced. Then Vernon Paulo forces one under the posts, and we turn it over. We said ‘no offloads’, and Ntuks [Ntuthuko Mchunu] goes and does a chicken wing.”
The pressure finally told just before the interval when lock Schickerling crashed over to open the Stormers' account. The score provided much-needed relief for a management team that was watching a mounting tally of set-piece opportunities slip away to the visitors.
“We were about to break the radios, but JD was under the posts,” Dobson admitted. “That was the whole narrative of that game, especially in the first hour, just the knock-ons. To give them 11 scrum feeds by half-time is a lot.”
The hosts adjusted their tactics significantly after the break, tightening their ball security and dominating the collision battle. Vernon Paulo bounced back from early pressure to deliver a robust performance, anchoring a reconstructed front row that was missing several injured regulars.
A yellow card to Ulster tighthead Keynan Knox allowed the Stormers' pack to seize complete control of the set piece. The tactical shift unlocked the game, highlighted by a superb 70-metre solo counter-attack from eighthman Evan Roos to secure the bonus point.
With the domestic home block completed, the Stormers now head into the international break firmly entrenched in the URC top four. Dobson confirmed minor injury assessments will be conducted on Roos and winger Leolin Zas before the squad reconvenes for November regional duties.