John Dobson's terrific Stormers outfit will be out to defend their URC title when they tackle Munster in the final at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Get the latest team news, kick-off times and more here!
Stormers To Go Back-To-Back?
Saturday’s clash gives the Stormers the chance to go two from two in the United Rugby Championship (URC) following their final win over the Bulls last year, also in Cape Town. John Dobson’s charges finished third overall, but host yet another title showdown after the top two of Leinster and Ulster were knocked out in the playoffs.
After a slow start to their campaign under new head coach Graham Rowntree, Munster clawed their way back to finally finish fifth overall. Their impressive away wins over Glasgow and Leinster give them a shot at a first piece of silverware since 2011.
✅ 45000+ strong home crowd
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 23, 2023
✅ Manie Libbok back on song
✅ Captain Steven Kitshoff’s Cape Town farewell@iamSivN has a strong case for why the DHL Stormers will take their second @Vodacom #URC title this weekend 🔥
🎥 Full Episode: https://t.co/SrRxqPxt97 #NorthvSouth pic.twitter.com/L5FvwkljEU
Betting Odds
The Stormers have been priced as pretty comprehensive favourites given they have home ground advantage and have gone the distance in the competition before.
The Capetonians eased past Connacht 43-25 in their Cape Town semi-final after seeing off the Bulls 33-21 in the last eight at the same venue, while Munster recorded upset wins in Glasgow over the Warriors (14-5) and in Dublin against Leinster (16-15).
Hollywoodbets is giving the Stormers a 5.5-point headstart in the handicap betting, with the match set to be a tightly contested affair.
Stormers 9/20 | Draw 20/1 | Munster 37/20
Handicap
Stormers (-5.5) 9/10 | Munster (+5.5) 9/10
When And Where To Watch
The URC final will be broadcast live on SuperSport Grandstand (channel 201) at 18:30. You can catch the build-up from 17:00 on the same channel.
Cape Town Stadium
The Cape Town Stadium in the Mother City will host its second-successive URC final following last year’s 18-13 Stormers victory over the Bulls.
With the stadium set for a new semi-synthetic pitch upgrade at the conclusion of the event, this will be the last time players are subjected to its torrid current field conditions which were originally designed for footballers at the 2020 FIFA World Cup.
Teams
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.
Munster
15. Mike Haley; 14. Calvin Nash, 13. Antoine Frisch, 12. Malakai Fekitoa, 11. Shane Daly; 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Conor Murray; 1. Jeremy Loughman, 2. Diarmuid Barron, 3. Stephen Archer, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Peter O’Mahony (capt), 7. John Hodnett, 8. Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: 16. Niall Scannell, 17. Josh Wycherley, 18. Roman Salanoa, 19. RG Snyman, 20. Alex Kendellen, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Ben Healy, 23. Keith Earls.
