The DHL Stormers produced a second-half surge of thunder and defiance to steal a remarkable 27–21 United Rugby Championship (URC) victory over Munster at Thomond Park.
Director of Rugby John Dobson revealed afterwards that the comeback was no accident. It was pre-planned, rehearsed, and executed with Bok-like precision.
A true team effort. The best things in life are shared. #MUNvSTO #inittogether @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/gSRLqxOLaE
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) November 29, 2025
Munster had dominated the opening stanza of the top-of-the-table thriller, bullying the Stormers into errors and racing into a 21–6 halftime lead.
Two yellow cards, first to Connor Evans, then Marcel Theunissen, left the Cape side juggling fire with 14 men for 20 minutes.
The home side struck first, with skipper Tadhg Beirne crossing before replacement John Hodnett and playmaker Jack Crowley added two more tries. All three tries were converted by Crowley while the Stormers clung to two Jurie Matthee penalties.
Dobson didn’t dress it up.
“Munster were absolutely superb in that first half, where everything went wrong for us,” he admitted.
“They put us under pressure and physically stood up to us, which caused us some issues.
“They cleaned us off the double hits, put our defence under pressure where we conceded three tries in a half…
“Our discipline was poor in the first half, conceding penalties and yellow cards, be it for pulling a jersey or being the third player in at the breakdown.”
But while Munster were swinging hammers, the Stormers had already packed dynamite.
Dobson’s ‘Rassie move’ detonates the comeback
In the 45th minute, Dobson executed a bold gambit straight from the Rassie Erasmus playbook: he sent all six replacement forwards onto the field at once.
“We always had the plan with the six replacement forwards coming on at the same time,” Dobson explained.
“We trained at the captain’s practice on how the calls and all the other details would work with all six replacements coming on.
“It was done as a pre-planned tactic, and we actually said if we found ourselves 15 points behind, knowing Munster would come out smoking, that we would have a chance.
“A lot of the feeling was that we might as well roll the dice because we were in so much trouble.”
And roll the dice they did, loaded with intent. Suddenly the collisions shifted. The scrum surged. The line-out steadied. Momentum flipped like a loose pass on a windy day.
“They made a huge difference,” Dobson said.
“It must be tough for the starters because they must think they were poor.
“But we knew Munster would put us under pressure. Our scrum was magic without some really good players.
“That scrum culture is breeding itself nicely across South African rugby.”
Stormers unleash the comeback
A disallowed maul try only delayed the inevitable. Adré Smith eventually barged over to ignite the charge. With Munster’s Gavin Coombes yellow-carded for a trip, a perfectly weighted Matthee cross-kick found debutant wing Dylan Maart, who soared like a kite in a gale to score his first URC try and slash the deficit to a single point.
It can't get much better than that!
Dylan Maart scores on DEBUT for @THESTORMERS
🙌🔥#BKUTRC #URC | #MUNvSTO pic.twitter.com/6VrvXVfj2P— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 29, 2025
Then came the dagger: Ruhan Nel plucking an intercept in his own half and racing away like a centre who knew destiny owed him one. Matthee converted, sealing a comeback as dramatic as a last-minute scrum penalty.
From 21–6 down to 27–21 up, the Stormers completed their greatest escape of the season.
This leaves captain Salmaan Moerat’s side with six wins from six as the only unbeaten team, still top of the URC standings, and now armed with a tactical story that will echo around the league.
How we are looking after 6️⃣ rounds of #BKT #URC action 👊 pic.twitter.com/00L1mNTYUV
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) November 30, 2025
