Stormers player ratings vs New Zealand | Rugby's Greatest Rivalry 2026

Stormers player ratings: Anyone who thought the Stormers would just roll over for the All Blacks was sorely disappointed. The Cape side put huge pressure on New Zealand’s set-piece in slippery conditions in Cape Town and gave as good as they got during a fiercely competitive first half. While the All Blacks eventually pulled away, the Stormers front row, lineout and a handful of emerging stars made sure this was anything but a procession against one of world rugby’s most decorated sides.

A slew of late tries for the All Blacks put some polish on the 38-21 scoreboard, but this was anything but easy.

1. Vernon Matongo – 7.5
Part of a Stormers scrum that caused the All Blacks plenty of discomfort throughout his 45-minute shift. Matongo and Neethling Fouche consistently asked questions at scrum time, although they occasionally strayed onto the wrong side of Karl Dickson’s interpretation. A busy outing against high-quality opposition.

2. Andre-Hugo Venter – 8
Had a try ruled out after 13 minutes following sustained Stormers maul pressure, but refused to let that setback affect him. The big hooker was central to the carrying effort and made several aggressive dents, including the powerful surge that laid the platform for Seabelo Senatla’s second-half score. Led from the front physically.

3. Neethling Fouche – 8
One of the Stormers’ standout forwards. Helped put the All Blacks scrum under serious pressure and produced a thumping hit in the second half that sparked a turnover and left New Zealand under the kosh. A typically abrasive display before departing in the closing stages.

4. Adre Smith – 6
Solid enough without scaling the heights reached by Connor Evans alongside him. Generally reliable at lineout time and got through his work, but wasn’t quite as influential as some of the other Stormers forwards around him.

5. Connor Evans – 8.5
The Stormers’ best forward on the day. Had a bright start and seemed to hoover up lineout ball all afternoon. The lock gave the home side an excellent platform from which to launch attacks and was a major reason why the Stormers remained competitive at set-piece time against elite opposition.

6. Deon Fourie – 8
Vintage Fourie. Crashed over from a catch-and-drive after Venter’s earlier effort was chalked off and continued to be a nuisance throughout. Won an important penalty early in the second half and supplied the final pass for Senatla’s try. Combined his usual niggle with plenty of industry.

7. Hacjivah Dayimani – 8
Didn’t take a backward step physically and won plenty of collisions against an All Blacks side loaded with power. His handling wasn’t flawless, with a spill midway through the first half, but there was far more good than bad. Produced a lovely break on 71 minutes and did brilliantly to escape Caleb Clarke’s attentions in one eye-catching moment late on.

8. Evan Roos – 7
Took the fight directly to the All Blacks and was heavily involved from the outset. Carried hard, made useful metres and was one of the Stormers’ primary sources of go-forward. The flip side was a few missed tackles that slightly blunted the overall impact of an otherwise combative display.

9. Imad Khan – NA
Cruelly denied the chance to make an impact. Lasted only three minutes after suffering a bizarre non-contact knee injury while moving along the touchline. Terrible luck for the young scrum-half.

10. Yaqeen Ahmed – 8
A hugely encouraging performance from the rookie fly-half after his impressive Junior Boks campaign. Converted Fourie’s try from out wide, looked completely at home in the occasion and repeatedly challenged the All Blacks defence. Broke the line in the second half and generally played with maturity beyond his years. A late drop-goal attempt drifted wide, but this was still a great display.

11. Leolin Zas – 7
Game under the high ball and gave New Zealand something to think about with his aerial chases, even if the accuracy wasn’t always there. Missed a tackle later in the contest and wasn’t flawless overall, but remained involved and busy throughout.

12. Jonathan Roche – 6
Carried hard in the opening exchanges but repeatedly ran into a black brick wall. Was on the receiving end of an illegal shot from Anton Lienert-Brown that earned the All Black centre a yellow card. At times he looked to be feeling the strain opposite the quality of Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane, but he stuck at it.

13. Ruhan Nel – 6.5
A relatively quiet outing. Defensively sound and did little wrong, but never really managed to ask enough questions of the All Blacks midfield before leaving shortly after the break.

14. Seabelo Senatla – 7.5
A mixed but ultimately positive afternoon. Unlucky not to finish a difficult early crossfield kick opportunity and was generally well managed by the All Blacks for long spells. However, he produced some excellent moments, including strong work to recover possession before half-time and a superb support line to finish the Stormers’ second try. Always looked capable of making something happen.

15. Warrick Gelant – 7.5
Some lovely footwork and side-stepping throughout, even if there were one or two frustrating errors mixed in. Spilled a ball on 23 minutes that surrendered an inviting attacking platform but responded with an excellent defensive penalty win over Anton Lienert-Brown. Classy in patches and dangerous whenever he found space.

Replacements – 5.5
The bench never really injected the impact the Stormers needed as the match drifted away from them in the final quarter. Dewaldt Duvenage was the exception, thrust into action after only three minutes and producing an excellent box-kicking display while bringing control around the fringes.