URC 2025/26 · Round 17
Stormers
Glasgow Warriors
DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Championship Standings
1st v 2nd — and the only fixture in Round 17 that genuinely matters at the top of the table. Glasgow lead the URC on 55 points from 15 with Stormers four back on 51, identical 11–4 records. Win here and the Stormers leapfrog Glasgow into top spot with two rounds to go; lose and Glasgow can all but lock up a home semi-final. Leinster are level with the Stormers on 51 and looming — the margin for error at the summit has vanished.
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow Warriors | 15 | 11 | 4 | +150 | 55 |
| 2 | Stormers | 15 | 11 | 4 | +130 | 51 |
| 3 |  Leinster | 15 | 10 | 5 | +70 | 51 |
| 4 |  Lions | 15 | 9 | 5 | +78 | 48 |
| 5 |  Ulster | 15 | 9 | 6 | +105 | 47 |
| 6 |  Munster | 15 | 9 | 6 | +5 | 46 |
| 7 |  Cardiff | 15 | 9 | 6 | −5 | 46 |
| 8 |  Bulls | 15 | 9 | 6 | +97 | 45 |
| 9 |  Connacht | 15 | 8 | 7 | +19 | 44 |
| 10 |  Ospreys | 15 | 6 | 7 | −28 | 34 |
| 11 |  Sharks | 15 | 6 | 8 | −30 | 34 |
| 12 |  Edinburgh | 15 | 5 | 10 | −70 | 28 |
| 13 |  Benetton | 15 | 5 | 8 | −104 | 28 |
| 14 |  Scarlets | 15 | 4 | 10 | −90 | 23 |
| 15 |  Dragons | 15 | 2 | 10 | −123 | 21 |
| 16 |  Zebre Parma | 15 | 2 | 13 | −204 | 14 |
Stormers
W3, L2The Stormers’ aura of invincibility at DHL just cracked. Connacht walked into Cape Town last weekend and won 33–24 — the first URC home defeat of the season — and it came six days after a one-point Champions Cup QF heartbreak at Toulon. Two losses in seven days for a squad that hadn’t lost at home all year. Before the wobble this was a team stacking wins (Dragons, Edinburgh, Bulls away) and pushing Toulon to the final minute in Europe, so the class is there — but the legs, seven days on from a European QF and a Connacht upset, are a genuine question.
Glasgow Warriors
W2, L3Glasgow’s last month has been one loss after another — a 22–19 home defeat to Toulon in the European semi, then the headline horror show: a 54–12 demolition at Ellis Park against the Lions in Round 16. Forty-two points conceded in Johannesburg is not a Glasgow result — it’s a side that looked cooked by altitude, travel, and three big games in 15 days. They’re now on the second leg of a South African double-header with a six-day turnaround in Cape Town. The table still says 1st, but the last three weekends don’t.
Head-to-Head Record
1 – 0 – 5
Stormers wins · Draws · Glasgow wins (last 6 meetings)
Stormers (1)On paper this is Glasgow’s fixture — five wins from the last six, including every meeting since 2022. But every Glasgow win came at Scotstoun or on neutral ground; the Stormers’ single win was a 32–7 thrashing in Cape Town in April 2022, the last time these sides met on South African soil. Glasgow have never played the Stormers at DHL Stadium. That’s the split that matters — the losing streak is real, the Cape Town record is perfect.
Recent Results
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| May 2025 | URC | Glasgow 36–18 Stormers |
| Oct 2024 | URC | Stormers 17–28 Glasgow |
| Jun 2024 | URC | Glasgow 27–10 Stormers |
| Nov 2023 | URC | Glasgow 20–9 Stormers |
| Jan 2023 | URC | Glasgow 24–17 Stormers |
| Apr 2022 | URC | Stormers 32–7 Glasgow |
Average score in the last 6 meetings: Glasgow 23 – Stormers 17 across the last six. Every Glasgow win has been at Scotstoun or on the road; the only Cape Town meeting is the Stormers’ 32–7 romp in 2022.
Extended Form
Stormers11W, 4L (URC) · 3W, 1L (ECC)
URC wins: Leinster 35–0, Ospreys 26–10, Lions 34–27, Bulls 13–8, Bulls 19–32 (A), Dragons 29–21, Edinburgh 33–14, plus earlier wins. URC losses: Sharks home and away, Lions away, Connacht 24–33 (H, R16). Champions Cup: wins over Harlequins, Leicester (39–26), Stade Rochelais (42–21), Bayonne (26–17 A); QF loss Toulon 28–27.
Until seven days ago the Stormers were arguably the form side in Europe north or south — pushing Toulon to a point, unbeaten at DHL all URC season. The Connacht defeat is the outlier, but it’s also a warning that legs and focus are finite after a knockout European campaign. Still: the body of work says top-eight side in Europe, 11 URC wins, and a home record nobody else in the league can match.
Glasgow Warriors11W, 4L (URC) · 4W, 2L (ECC)
URC highlights: Leinster 38–17 (H), Munster 31–22, Ospreys 42–17 (A), Edinburgh doubles, Benetton 31–10. URC losses: Connacht 15–10 (A), Scarlets 0–23 (A), Benetton 14–16 (A), Lions 54–12 (A, R16). Champions Cup: wins over Toulouse (H, 28–21), Saracens (28–3), Clermont (33–21 A), Bulls (25–21 QF H); losses to Stade Toulousain group stage (1) and Toulon SF (19–22 H).
At Scotstoun, Glasgow have been ruthless — their three URC road losses all share one trait: awkward, tight venues (Galway, Llanelli, Treviso). But the 54–12 at Ellis Park is a different animal: a complete dismantling on the highveld after a gut-punch European exit. Back-to-back South African road trips separated by six days against the only two unbeaten-at-home URC sides is a brutal fixture list.
Stormers XV
Team not yet announced. John Dobson will rotate some legs after the Connacht defeat but this is the biggest URC match of the regular season — expect his Springbok core fit: Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Neethling Fouche, Deon Fourie, Evan Roos (URC’s top try-scorer on 10) and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at 10. Warrick Gelant, Leolin Zas and Suleiman Hartzenberg likely in the back three. Damian Willemse started at fullback against Connacht; may move to 12 here.
Glasgow Warriors XV
Team not yet announced. Franco Smith faces a rotation dilemma — the 54–12 at Ellis Park exposed travel-leg fatigue, and another 1:45pm kickoff in Cape Town in six days is another full-physical test. Expect the Scottish core back: Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson in the backrow; Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu in midfield; Jamie Dobie (7 URC tries) at wing or scrum-half; George Horne at 9. Duncan Weir or Tom Jordan at 10.
Key Matchups
Two of the URC’s elite backrow units — Darge/Dempsey/Fagerson against Fourie/Norton/Roos — decide the collision. Evan Roos leads the URC in tries (10) and is one of two Stormers in the top-three of the points chart (Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2nd on 103). Glasgow counter with Jamie Dobie (7 tries) and Josh McKay (128 carries) for attacking shape, but their set piece is a step behind the Bok-stacked Stormers front row — and they’ve now conceded 76 points across their last two games on the road. Where the Stormers should tilt this is the 10 jersey: Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s goal-kicking and territorial game against a Glasgow defence that leaked 54 in Johannesburg.
Match Forecast
Read the last three weeks, not the last three years. Glasgow were imperious at Scotstoun — and are still top of the URC — but they have been outscored 76–31 across their two most recent road trips (Ellis Park 54–12 and the second leg of a Cape Town double-up after a European semi exit). The Stormers’ Bok-heavy front row plus Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s kicking game is the exact profile that punished Glasgow at altitude last week, and DHL under a Cape Town autumn sun with a 1:45pm kickoff is a harder stage than Ellis Park for a touring side already on fumes. Set piece, home advantage and the SA tour modifier all lean clearly home.
The reasons to hedge are real. Glasgow have won the last five H2H meetings and the Stormers arrive with a Connacht hangover — last weekend’s 33–24 loss at home exposed legs that had been grinding since the Toulon QF. If Dobie or McKay break one against a Stormers backfield missing its sharpness, or if Feinberg-Mngomezulu misses early shots at goal, this compresses to a coin-flip. But the weight of evidence — travel, form trajectory, set-piece, home record at DHL — has Stormers by two scores.
Stormers by 8–14 — Glasgow’s back-to-back South African road trip ends the same way the first leg did.