Match report | Stormers 52-40 Scarlets

United Rugby Championship | DHL Stadium, Cape Town | Saturday 24 October 2026
Half-time: Stormers 33-14 | Referee: Robbie Jenkinson

Match report

The Stormers beat the Scarlets 52-40 in an eight-try shootout. They built a 19-point half-time cushion, then had to survive a second-half fightback that levelled the scores at 40-40 on 65 minutes.

First half. The tempo was high from the start. Scarlets hooker John McKee was yellow-carded after nine minutes, and the Stormers punished him immediately. Zachary Porthen scored from close range on 10 minutes (the conversion missed), and Haashim Pead added a second try on 15 after Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s break set it up. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted for 12-0.

The Scarlets hit back while still a man down. Joe Roberts finished a flowing move on 18 minutes, and Carwyn Leggatt-Jones converted to make it 12-7. Ntuthuko Mchunu answered with an individual try on 27, and Ioan Jones went over for the Scarlets on 30, so it was 19-14 at that point. The Stormers then closed the half strongly. Seabelo Senatla scored on 33 after Pead’s pass, and Deon Fourie, on as a replacement, drove over from a rolling maul on 41. That put the home side 33-14 up at the break.

Second half. The Scarlets restarted with intent, and the game swung on their counter-punching. Macs Page scored within a minute of the restart (33-21). Roberts then intercepted and ran in on 45 minutes, and he converted his own try (33-28). Olly Reid’s close-range try on 54 pushed the Stormers back to 40-28 after JD Schickerling’s assist. The Scarlets scored again through Josh MacLeod on 59, though the conversion missed. Roberts completed his hat-trick with a solo try on 64, and Leggatt-Jones’ conversion levelled it at 40-40.

The finish. Substitute Yaqeen Ahmed settled it. He scored a try on 73 minutes, with a Feinberg-Mngomezulu conversion making it 47-40. He added a second from the base of a ruck on 79. Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed the last conversion, so the final score was 52-40.

The 6 best players from the match

1. Joe Roberts (Scarlets, 13). He was the player of the game. He scored a hat-trick (17 points, including a conversion) and made a game-high 114 carry metres. He also made 4 clean breaks, beat 6 defenders and gained 66 post-contact metres. His defence was less convincing: 5 of 9 tackles made and 1 missed.

2. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers, 10). He scored 12 points from 6 of 8 conversions. He controlled the territory game with 12 kicks from hand for 335 metres, and kicked seven penalties to touch for 151 metres. He also set up Pead’s try and played all 80 minutes. The blemishes were 5 handling errors, 5 turnovers conceded and 2 missed tackles.

3. Yaqeen Ahmed (Stormers, replacement 23). He was the match-winner off the bench, scoring a double (10 points) in just 31 minutes. He also made a clean break, beat 2 defenders, kicked 156 metres, and made 2 offloads.

4. Ioan Nicholas (Scarlets, 15). He was the Scarlets’ most complete back. He made 74 carry metres, beat 7 defenders and had 2 line-break assists. Defensively he made 5 of 6 tackles, including a dominant tackle and 2 try-saving tackles, and won a turnover.

5. Riley Norton (Stormers, 4). He was the best defender on the pitch. He made 15 of 17 tackles (88%) over 80 minutes, with only one miss. Most were in his own half or 22, so he was the foundation of the Stormers’ defence when the Scarlets were attacking.

6. Paul de Villiers (Stormers, 6, captain). He was the engine room. He made 11 tackles and won 12 rucks, the most of any player. He crossed the gain line on 9 of his carries and provided the assist for Porthen’s opening try. He did miss 3 tackles.

Honourable mentions: Fletcher Anderson (Scarlets, 5 defenders beaten and 12 rucks won) and Connor Evans (Stormers, 85% tackle success and 6 lineouts won).