Overview
- The Stormers beat Connacht 29-15 in Galway on Friday, September 25, overturning a second-half deficit and scoring late tries from debutants Vernon Paulo and Ezekiel Ngobeni to seal a bonus-point win.
- Director of rugby John Dobson had warned of a difficult start after losing forwards Evan Roos and Marcel Theunissen to late training injuries and missing several players to Springbok duty, forcing on-the-day changes to the pack.
- Match reports say Stormers forward power and a driving maul created the platform for the comeback, with replacement prop Sazi Sandi burrowing over and the bench providing the decisive late scores.
- Preseason coverage still names Leinster as the favourites for the title with Leo Cullen in his final season, while Glasgow and South African provinces were tipped as strong regular-season threats because of squad depth and fixture patterns.
- Early-season themes to watch are squad disruption from international windows, the travel burden on South African provinces and the fixture format that gives some teams repeated shield opponents, all factors that could make the opening rounds uneven and consequential for standings.