From scrums to high balls: Five keys to Stormers’ derby success against the Sharks

Saturday will mark the first of back-to-back coastal derbies in the United Rugby Championship (URC) between the Stormers and Sharks, with Cape Town hosting the opening duel.

For the Stormers, the challenge at the DHL Stadium (7.30pm kick-off) is clear: strike early, dominate the big plays and lay down a marker for the rest of the clash as they look to maintain their unbeaten home run against a hungry Sharks.

We look at five key areas the Cape side will be targeting as they look to gain the upper hand to make it a ninth victory in the competition.

Scrums

The anticipation will build for the first scrum of the game, and how quickly the Stormers can establish some domination up front will be critical. The Sharks left Ox Nché on the bench, and the tightheads of the Cape side will be licking their lips at the prospect of giving young loosehead prop Phatu Ganyane a proper Mother City welcome.

A foothold in the scrums could provide plenty of quality ball for the backline that is yet to produce a proper attacking display in 2026. That could all depend on how the forwards fare in the scrums and if they can put the Sharks under pressure.

Defence

The Stormers’ statistics on tackles completed don’t make for good reading. According to the official URC stats, they have a 79% tackle completion rate. They’ve kept two sides scoreless in the tournament and have only conceded just over 10 tries in the last nine games. That shows their scramble defence is excellent.

However, the Cape side must complete those first-time dominant hits to keep the Sharks at bay. They must stop the visitors’ attack with those double tackles they pride themselves on to halt any kind of attack on their try line.

Aerial battle

Kick accuracy will be important, and that is something that the Stormers’ halfbacks have been good at, but there is always room for improvement. The skills of outside backs Leolin Zas, Dylan Maart, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Warrick Gelant will be under immense pressure from their counterparts.

Whether it’s on the attack or defence, they must be on point to field what is coming their way. The Sharks, with centre Ethan Hooker, fullback Aphelele Fassi, and winger Jaco Williams, will look to outjump the home side when it comes to the battle under the high ball.

Lineouts

With a 94% success rate, the lineout of the home side has been their go-to weapon when the scrums are not firing. They’ve been equally devastating with their rolling mauls that result from clean balls off the lineout. However, they can also sneak a couple of first-phase moves via this platform to catch opponents off guard.

Up against a Sharks pack that has stolen 16 throws of their opponents, this will arguably be the trickiest lineout opposition yet for the Stormers. Navigating Emile van Heerden, Jason Jenkins, and Vincent Tshituka off the bench in this area will be key.

The running game

With all the stars in the backline back and in front of a fullhouse at DHL Stadium, the Stormers do not need a lot of motivation to get their backline running. In the previous SA derby, it was a close contest against the Bulls with few sparkling tries, so the Cape side owes their supporters a good five-pointers.

But it won’t just be about chucking the ball around. The game will demand precision — enough to bait the Sharks without slipping into recklessness; something the Stormers make themselves guilty of at times.