‘As tough a start as you can get,’ says Stormers’ Dobson about Connacht match

The Stormers, a South African rugby team, are set to embark on their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign with a challenging opener against Connacht in Galway on Friday night. This match marks the first of two away games for the Stormers in the 2026/27 season, and they will need to perform at their best to secure any points.

Director of Rugby John Dobson acknowledged that this is likely to be one of the toughest starts a team can face, especially when battling against Connacht away from home. Despite some victories against Connacht last season, the Stormers will have to begin from scratch, given that they were a struggling touring side in the first four seasons of the URC.

Dobson expressed that while the team has muscle memory for winning away games, they must start anew and aim for at least one or two wins in their upcoming matches to avoid the pitfalls of previous campaigns, where poor starts led to a disappointing season finale.