Defence coach Norman Laker says Sunday’s match between the Stormers XXIII and Seattle Seawolves will be a valuable exercise. LINDIZ VAN ZILLA reports.
While the Vodacom URC side prepares to face the Dragons, the Stormers XXIII – the name for the team that will compete in the new SA Rugby U23 Cup and in the Currie Cup – will take on Major League Rugby’s Seawolves. The match will be played after the URC clash at Cape Town Stadium, which kicks off at 3pm.
Laker said the Seawolves fixture will offer valuable game time to those outside the Stormers match 23, as well as players making their way back to full fitness, like flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis and Oli Kebble.
“It’s quite nice for us to get a game against a quality outfit like the Seattle Seawolves to see what our depth looks like,” he added. “It will also be interesting to see what the level of rugby is like in America”.
The Seawolves were founded in 2017 and won MLR championships in 2018 and 2019, before losing finals in 2022 and 2024.
The team boasts a number of South Africans, including long-standing captain, No 8 and leading try-scorer Riekert Hattingh, as well as former Stormers centre Dan Kriel, ex-Bulls and Lions utility back Duncan Matthews and former Pumas lock Malembe Mpofu.
The trip to Cape Town forms part of a pre-season collaboration between the Seawolves and Stormers, which was recently formalised.
The Seawolves have sweated their way through through pre-season training at the False Bay RFC and the Stormers High Performance Centre in Bellville in sweltering temperatures over the past week.
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Seawolves coach Allen Clarke described the South African trip as a high-performance training block designed to sharpen execution, build cohesion and prepare for the demands of the 2026 MLR season.
“The collaboration stemmed from one of our owners whose vision was to partner with a strong, established brand to help grow rugby in the United States, both on the field, as well as commercially,” he said.
“We benefit from high-level, top-tier experience and facilities, while also offering the Stormers more visibility and branding opportunities in the US.
“Rugby is a relatively new sport in the US, competing against huge sporting codes. Club games are a challenge in many countries, but the Seawolves are a stable franchise with a clear vision and a solid growth trajectory.”
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Clarke said the two teams were at different stages of their season.
“If you look at where the Stormers are in their season and where we are in pre-season, it wouldn’t make sense to train together,” he explained.
“It’s about player welfare and understanding that we are still putting our building blocks in place. So we have two weeks of solo training, analysis and prep, with the opportunity to play a Stormers XXIII on Sunday.
“The Stormers are a champion outfit with world-class, one-stop facilities like the High Performance Centre. After the Seawolves, we support the Stormers, they’re our team, and we would love to grow that connection. Who knows, one day a Stormers team can come over to play in the USA.”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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