The DHL Stormers delivered another emphatic home statement with a five-try demolition of Ulster, yet John Dobson’s post-match celebrations came with a sizeable medical bill as Springbok No 8 Evan Roos emerged as a potentially serious casualty.
The Stormers’ 33-7 bonus-point victory at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday secured their fourth successive home bonus-point win in all competitions and sent them into the four-week Vodacom United Rugby Championship break with considerable momentum. However, Roos and winger Leolin Zas limping off with knee injuries has left Dobson anxiously awaiting medical assessments.
Roos, who produced a powerful solo effort to score early in the second half, was replaced by Wandile Mlaba in the 56th minute.
“It looks like a medial ligament injury, but he hasn’t been scanned yet. It could be serious, but it’s not an ACL,” Dobson revealed.
“It could be six weeks, it could be a month, but it could be a pretty serious injury.”
Zas also sustained a knee injury, increasing the importance of Cheslin Kolbe’s anticipated return.
“Zassy also picked up some sort of knee injury, so Chessie is going to be very important,” Dobson added.
The injury concerns were compounded by another late setback involving Bongi Mbonambi. The Springbok hooker, who rejoined the Stormers this week and was named among the replacements, withdrew with a hamstring complaint before kick-off. Debutant Altus Rabe stepped into the breach.
With André-Hugo Venter, Deon Fourie, Lukhanyo Vokozela, Almero Keizer and Luca Bakkes already injured, and JJ Kotzé suspended, the Stormers’ hooking department resembles a casualty ward.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was so proud of our efforts as a collective to get Bongi in here within 24 hours,” Dobson said.
“Then he comes to me at the captain’s run and says his hamstring is sore. I said, ‘Man, it’s not, go back out there on the field! [laughs]’
“He hasn’t played for a long time and we didn’t want him to tear it. So he’ll be back; he could play next week. It was precautionary.”
The thrill of the chase. #inittogether @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/EJ5NLeAjYw
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 31, 2026
Dobson also provided an update on Ben-Jason Dixon, who has experienced delayed concussion symptoms. The 11-cap Springbok is expected to return alongside fellow loose forwards Keke Morabe and Ruan Ackermann, and Kolbe, in December.
“It’s not something you mess around with,” Dobson cautioned.
On the field, the Stormers had to wrestle control of a strangely untidy opening half. Ulster struck first through David McCann, while Keynan Knox’s yellow card gave the hosts an opportunity to respond through JD Schickerling and Paul de Villiers.
However, handling errors repeatedly threatened to undermine their attacking ambitions.
“We were on 14 knock-ons at half-time, which is just a staggering statistic,” Dobson admitted.
“One or two [offloads] we forced. Then Vernon Paulo forces one under the posts and we turn it over. We said ‘no offloads’, and Ntuks [Ntuthuko Mchunu] goes and does a chicken wing.”
Dobson was equally exasperated by the volume of possession Ulster received at scrum time.
“We were about to break the radios, but JD was under the posts. That was the whole narrative of that game, especially in the first hour, just the knock-ons. To give them 11 scrum feeds by half-time is a lot.”
Captain Ruhan Nel attributed some of the handling problems to the greasy conditions during the unusual 2:45pm kick-off.
“It felt a little greasy [in the heat] – the ball is a little greasy,” he explained. “The ball comes up, it’s not sticking to the fingers, so the pass isn’t as accurate.”
The Stormers adjusted their approach after the interval, with Nel encouraging players to support linebreaks more closely rather than stretching passes unnecessarily.
Defensively, the second-half shutout offered considerable encouragement.
“If you can go from set-piece to set-piece defence, we’d love that,” Nel said.
“But teams try to break you down and put you under pressure with their style of play, and there are going to be times in a game when you end up scrambling in defence.”
He added: “When that happens, I think it shows how much we feel for each other, to get back behind the ball and apply pressure again. So, yes, I’m very happy that we only conceded one try there.”
👨🍳 Backline cooking and it's Yaqeen who scores our fifth try.
⛈️ 33-7 ⚪️ (77mins)#STOvULS @Vodacom #URC #inittogether pic.twitter.com/WbHj4qcMPs
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 31, 2026
Yaqeen Ahmed, meanwhile, enjoyed another influential afternoon, scoring a try and converting four of the Stormers’ five touchdowns.
The Stormers now have a month to repair their handling, replenish their ranks and get their walking wounded back on the training field.
Their next assignment is a potentially explosive coastal derby against the Sharks at Kings Park on 5 December.
The scoreboard says the Stormers are flying. The medical room suggests Dobson has some serious selection headaches to solve before the rugby resumes.
![IMG_4428[1]](https://www.theathlete.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_44281-scaled.jpg "IMG_4428[1]")
