The Cape Town-based team has had an outstanding start to the 2025/26 United Rugby Championship (URC) season.
They kicked off their campaign with a convincing victory over Leinster, followed by two more wins against the Ospreys and the Scarlets in Wales.
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Despite occupying top position on the log, none of these triumphs have come without some bad injury news.
The 2022 URC winners are now having to do without the services of some of their most experienced squad members.
This comes as tighthead prop Neethling Fouche is out for a large part of the season after fracturing his arm during a home leg game.
The team also confirmed that his replacement, Sazi Sandi, will undergo scans to assess his injury, which he picked up in the victory against the Scarlets.
Zachary Porthen to get a nod?
With double Rugby World Cup-winner Frans Malherbe still out with a back injury, former Junior Springbok captain Zachary Porthen might have to step up.
The lengthy prop made his Stormers debut last season and has since been featured twice in the last three games, all of which were from the bench.
Earlier this year, he also played an important part in the University of Cape Town (UCT) achieving success in the 2025 Varsity Cup.
‘Experience lost’
Stormers coach John Dobson has yet to provide clarity on the way forward, but with so much experience lost, he said: “We should be able to keep our strong scrumming culture going.”
The Stormers will continue their European tour of the United Rugby Championship with matches against Zebre, Benetton, and Munster before returning to face the Lions at the Cape Stadium in December.
