Stormers v Ospreys: Five takeaways as ‘Springboks yo-yo’ reminds Rassie Erasmus of his ability while visitors fade badly

Following a 26-10 victory for the Stormers over the Ospreys at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, here’s our five takeaways from Friday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter.

The top line

The stormers continued with their impressive start to the 2025/26 URC campaign and after keeping Leinster scoreless at home last week, they followed it up with another superb all-round performance.

The opening exchanges was dominated by the visitors who made a fantastic start when Wales scrum-half Kieran Hardy crossed for the opening try as early as the third minute.

The home side struck back with a five-pointer from Evan Roos shortly afterwards but the Welsh region regained the initiative when Hardy crossed for another try on the half-hour mark.

Ospreys continued to hold a slight edge for the rest of the half before Jurie Matthee slotted a penalty on the stroke of half-time. That meant the visitors held a slender 10-8 half-time lead which was a deserved one.

However, things went pear-shaped for the visitors after the interval, especially in the scrums which were dominated by the home side’s forwards and when it was withing goal-kicking range, Matthee made mistake off the kicking tee.

Two penalties from the pivot meant the Stormers were leading 14-10 by the 57th minute before a superb converted try from Wandisile Simelane soon after put more breathing space between them and their opponents.

Another try 10 minutes later from Paul de Villiers put the game to bed which saw the Stormers upping the ante on attack as they went in search of their fourth try to clinch a bonus point.

And although they failed in achieving that goal, the hosts will be happy as they secured another deserved triumph.

New heroes emerging for the Stormers

With Manie Libbok no longer part of the Stormers set-up – after joining Japanese outfit Hanazono Kintetsu Liners – and currently on Springboks duty alongside the men from the Cape’s first choice fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and star utility back Damian Willemse, the likes of Matthee and Simelane came to the fore with outstanding individual performances in this clash.

Matthee was calling the shots as the side’s chief playmaker and combined his brilliance on attack with impressive game management which gave his side good momentum throughout.

The young fly-half showed his class early on with a well executed cross-field kick which bounced awkwardly for Keelan Giles and Roos was on hand to score his side’s first try.

Added to that Matthee also delivered a solid goal-kicking display and finished with an 11-point haul courtesy of three penalties and a conversion.

However, one player who really made a big impact on this match was Simelane, who caught the eye with an outstanding attacking performance for the full 80 minutes.

Usually an outside centre, Simelane has been filling in at full-back for the Stormers with Willemse on international duty with the Boks and Warrick Gelant currently sidelined due to injury.

Kieran Hardy shines on attack in defeat

The Wales scrum-half was on the field for 57 minutes before being replaced by Reuben Morgan-Williams but he will be happy with his performance as he looked lively on attack especially in the opening half.

The 29-year-old gave his side the perfect start when he crossed for the opening try after his skipper Dewi Lake laid the groundwork with a strong carry.

Hardy continued to impress as the half progressed as he delivered a slick service to his outside backs while his attacking play was also of a high standard.

In the 30th minute, Hardy was rewarded again after Ross Moriarty punched holes in the Stormers defence with a strong carry out wide before offloading to Dan Kasende, who was in the clear down the right-hand touchline.

He then threw an inside pass to the on-rushing Hardy, who had a clear run-in over the try-line.

Evan Roos shows his class again

The Stormers number eight caught the eye once again with an outstanding all-round performance as he was in the thick of the action from the start of this clash and was at the forefront of the home side’s attacking onslaught in the forward exchanges.

Roos left his stamp early on in this match when he showed great anticipation and awareness to pounce on Matthee’s well weighted cross-field kick before pouncing to score a well-taken try.

He continued to impress with ball in hand as the match progressed and was involved in the Stormers’ third try when he pushed De Villiers over the whitewash after the duo broke away from an attacking lineout deep inside Ospreys territory.

Roos was also putting his body on the line with some big hits on defence throughout this clash and although the 25-year-old has become like the yo-yo of the Springboks squad since making his international debut against Wales three years ago, his all-round effort in this fixture was a timely reminder to Rassie Erasmus of his ability.

Ospreys fade badly in second half

After delivering a brave performance in last weekend’s 53-40 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria, the Ospreys continued to impress during the early stages of this encounter.

The Welsh region’s forwards and backs combined brilliantly during the first half with the likes of Lake and Moriarty leading the way up front and Hardy at the forefront of the backline attacks.

They had their tails up at the interval with the score 10-8 in their favour but unfortunately they lost their way in the second half with especially their forwards not matching their efforts from the opening stanza.

This was particularly evident in the scrums where they conceded several penalties and with their pack on the back foot for most of the half, their backs battled with the scraps of possession they received.

With their overseas tour now a thing of the past, Ospreys head coach Mark Jones and his troops will be keen to get their first win of the campaign against Zebre in Bridgend next weekend.