The Stormers, also known as the DHL Stormers because of a sponsorship deal, is a professional rugby team from South Africa. The team is based in Cape Town, in the Western Cape region. They play in the United Rugby Championship, a competition that includes teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales, and South Africa. They also compete in the Currie Cup, a local competition, as the Stormers XXI. The Stormers were part of the Super Rugby competition until 2020. They have won one major international title, the 2021-22 United Rugby Championship. They have also earned seven South African conference championships: five in the South African Conference of Super Rugby and two in the South African Shield, which is the URC equivalent. In the Currie Cup, the team, which was previously called Western Province, has won the competition 34 times.

Background

The Stormers are based on the Western Province Currie Cup team, but also include players from the Boland Cavaliers, which covers the Cape Winelands and West Coast areas, with home games in Wellington. Through 2005, they also included players from the SWD Eagles (George), meaning they had players from all three unions in the Western Cape Province. However, changes in franchise areas due to the expansion of the competition caused the Eagles to move to the area of the Southern Spears (later replaced by the Southern Kings).

Before 1998, South Africa did not use a franchise system for the Super 12. Instead, the top four teams from its domestic Currie Cup competition entered the Super 12. In 1996, the Stormers competed in the Super 12 as Western Province. In 1997, they did not qualify, and the fourth South African team was the Orange Free State (now the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup). Later, this region was represented in the Super 12 by the Cats (now the Lions) and in the Super 14 by the Cheetahs.

The Stormers played their first final in 2010, facing the Bulls in Johannesburg in front of 36,000 fans. They had beaten the Waratahs in the semifinal but lost to the Bulls. In the two years before this, 1999 and 2004, they reached the semifinals but were eliminated by the Highlanders and Crusaders.

They played consecutive home semifinals in 2011 and 2012, but lost both at Newlands to the Crusaders and the Sharks. In 2015, they won the South African conference for the third time but lost their home quarterfinal to the Brumbies.

In 2021–22, the Stormers, along with the Bulls, Sharks, and Lions, left Super Rugby to join the newly renamed United Rugby Championship, which includes teams from Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. Their first season in the URC was successful, as they won the South African shield by finishing first in their national conference and then won the overall URC title by beating the Bulls in the 2022 final. On 2 June 2022, it was announced that the four South African URC teams, including the Cheetahs (a former Pro 14 team), would join the European Professional Club Rugby competitions for the first time in 2022–23, with the Stormers entering the top-tier European Rugby Champions Cup.

History

The club is nicknamed "Die Streeptruie," which means "The Striped Jerseys" in Afrikaans. This name comes from the team's famous blue and white striped jerseys, which were also used by the Malmesbury Rugby Football Club, founded in 1881. The team is also called "Province" by many South African rugby fans. Afrikaans-speaking supporters often refer to the team as "W.P." (pronounced "vee pee," with the "ee" sound like in "beer").

Western Province has a special achievement that no other South African team has matched: winning two matches against the All Blacks, a top rugby team from New Zealand. The first win was 10–3 on August 15, 1928, and the second was 12–11 on July 16, 1976. Many countries have never beaten the All Blacks, but Western Province did. In 2010, Western Province also had a major success by defeating all five teams from New Zealand in a single competition, an accomplishment that has never been repeated. The team has also beaten the Wallabies, a team from Australia, 17–6 in 1963. Western Province tied with England in 1984 with a score of 15–15 and has defeated the British and Irish Lions three times in 1903 and once in 1924. These matches were considered "test" matches, which are official international games. Only two teams, the Blue Bulls and Western Province, have ever beaten both international teams and combination teams like the Lions.

The club was founded in 1883. It won its first Currie Cup title in 1889 and won again in 1892. Western Province continued to win the Currie Cup in 1894, 1895, 1897, and 1898. They also won in 1904, 1906, 1908, and 1914. Between 1920 and 1930, they won the Currie Cup four times, and between 1930 and 1939, they won it three times, sharing two titles with Border. In 1939, the first Currie Cup championship was introduced, but Western Province lost the final to Transvaal 17–6 in Cape Town.

After losing the Currie Cup final in 1946, Western Province won its first final in 1947. The Currie Cup became an annual competition in 1969, and Western Province reached the final that year but lost to Northern Transvaal. They waited until 1954 to reach another final, which they also lost to the Orange Free State. In 1957, Western Province won the Currie Cup, sharing it with Northern Transvaal at Newlands Stadium. The next year, they lost the final again to Northern Transvaal. Northern Transvaal became Western Province's main rival, especially during South Africa's sporting isolation caused by apartheid. The rivalry was a highlight of the Currie Cup season, with the teams meeting in six finals before the 1990s. In the 1980s, Western Province had its "golden years," winning the Currie Cup five times in a row, a record that has not been matched. In 1989, they tied with Northern Transvaal in the final, and their next final was in 1995, which they lost to the Sharks. Western Province won the Currie Cup in 1997, defeating the Free State Cheetahs, but lost to the Blue Bulls the following year.

Western Province won the Currie Cup twice in 2000 and 2001, defeating the Sharks both times. In 2010, the team reached the finals of both the Super Rugby and Currie Cup competitions but lost both. After winning the Vodacom Cup and the Super Rugby Conference Cup, Western Province beat the Sharks in 2012 to win the Currie Cup again. In 2013, the team went undefeated in the Currie Cup but lost in the final. Western Province continued to perform well, making three finals in three years and winning the 2014 title by beating the Lions. In 2015, the team won the Super Rugby Conference Cup for the third time in five years. Between 2011 and 2015, Western Province was the most successful rugby union in South Africa in terms of competitions won.

The club's name comes from the province it represents. In the 1990s, many teams changed their names, but Western Province kept its original name. Some teams added animal names, like Boland becoming the Boland Cavaliers, while others changed their names completely, such as Transvaal becoming the Golden Lions and Northern Transvaal becoming the Blue Bulls.

In 1996, the Super 12 competition was launched, and teams from Australia and New Zealand used franchise-based models to select teams. South African teams were chosen based on their Currie Cup results, with the top four teams entering the Super 12. Western Province joined the Super 12 in 1996 but performed poorly, winning only three of 11 matches. The next year, Western Province did not qualify for the Super 12, and the Cape Town area was not represented. In 1998, South Africa created four new teams, including the Stormers, and stopped using Currie Cup results to select teams. The Stormers' first season was similar to Western Province's 1996 season, with three wins out of 11 matches.

In 1999, the Stormers had a better season, losing only three matches and

Kit

The first (Western) Stormers jersey and logo in 1998 used the colors of the three unions that formed the regional team: WP, SWD, and Boland. The jersey had many colors, including blue, white, red, green, and gold, and a triangular logo with a wavy design. Some people liked the look, but most did not. A newspaper writer said, "It looks like scrambled eggs with Smarties mixed in!"

In 1999, the team changed to a simple black jersey and shorts, with black and white "Barbarian" socks, bold numbers, and a lightning bolt logo on the chest. The switch to black was meant to attract more fans. Black became an important part of the Stormers’ identity.

In 2007, the team moved away from black to navy blue as the Stormers and WP brands became more similar.

In 2011, white bars were added to the front of the navy blue jersey to match the WP brand more closely.

In 2013, the color changed to royal blue, the original color of WP Rugby. However, in low light, the jerseys show two different shades of blue.

From their start in 1996 until 2017, the Stormers’ uniforms were made by Adidas, the same company that provided Western Province’s jerseys since 1983. From 2018 to 2025, both the Stormers and Western Province wore unbranded jerseys made by a local company called Genuine Connection. This company had previously made jerseys for Adidas since 2000. On August 26, 2025, after eight years, Adidas and Genuine Connection signed a new contract together.

• 1996–1999
• 1999–2007
• 2007–2025
• 2025–

Honours

Super 12/14 (1996–2010)
• Runners-up (1 time): 2010
• Play-off appearances (3 times): 1999, 2004, 2010

Super Rugby (2011–2020)
• Semi-finalists (2 times): 2011, 2012
• Qualifiers (1 time): 2015
• South African Conference Champions (5 times): 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017

• Runners-up (1 time): 2020

• Champions (1 time): 2021–2022
• Runners-Up (1 time): 2022–2023
• URC South African Shield Champions (2 times): 2021–2022, 2022–2023

• 1889

• Winners on 34 occasions (4 shared): 1892, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1914, 1920, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1932 (shared), 1934 (shared), 1936, 1947, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1979 (shared), 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989 (shared), 1997, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2017

• Winners on three occasions: 1984, 1988, 1989

Currie Cup / Central Series Percy Frames Trophy
• 1986

SuperSport Rugby Challenge
• 2017

• 2012

• 1997

Stadium

Newlands Stadium was built in 1888 and held its first official matches in 1890. Over the next century, the stadium was kept being improved. The stadium changed names many times because of sponsorships from companies like Vodacom and DHL. When the Stormers played at Newlands, it often had the largest average crowds of any stadium in Super Rugby. Over 131 years, more than 1 million people watched games there.

In 2016, people started talking about moving the Stormers from Newlands to the Cape Town Stadium, which was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Stormers stayed at Newlands until 2021. After 131 years, the Western Province Football Union decided to move the Stormers and Western Province to the Cape Town Stadium. The stadium was later renamed the DHL Stadium after it got sponsorship rights. Newlands was then put up for sale. As of October 2025, the stadium has not yet been sold to a developer. The largest crowd for a Stormers game ever happened at the Cape Town Stadium in 2023 during the URC Grand Final against Munster, with 55,000 people attending.

Current squad

The Stormers team for the 2025–26 United Rugby Championship includes the following players.

The following players have been added to the Western Province team for the 2025 Currie Cup Premier Division so far.