Stormers counting the cost of victory against never-say-die Scarlets

The Cape Town franchise were heavy favourites heading into the clash but the Welsh outfit didn't read the script. They were holding the Stormers at 40-all with seven minutes to play before two late tries skewed the scoreboard.

Worryingly, the Stormers suffered several key injuries which led to uncontested scrums, a rarity in 2026. Springbok Andre-Hugo Venter left injured in the 35th minute before Lukhanyo Vokozela departed in the second half for a head injury assessment, which he failed. The versatile Deon Fourie could have filled in, but he also limped off with a hamstring injury. In their absence, captain Paul de Villers was throwing into the lineouts.

Speaking to the press after the match, Dobson revealed the extent of the walking wounded, which extends well beyond hooker.

"The match itself was absolutely bizarre; I was really pleased that we have a good contingency sheet if you lose both hookers, but I never thought we'd be losing three," he said.

"Deon was the third, so to lose all three hookers took away our set-piece, but credit to the team for the way they closed that game out. It was bizarre, but yes, it is a crisis for us.

"The [smart] mouthguards were going like pinballs; it was ping, ping. Hacjivah [Dayimani] is definitely unavailable for Ulster.

"Boepa [Lukhanyo Vokozela] failed his first HIA and needs to do his second concussion test; Cobus [Reinach] passed his and went back on, Seabelo [Sentala] passed his concussion test, so they should all be available.

"Andre-Hugo looks like he has a relatively serious elbow injury and Fourie suffered a hamstring blow, so it's not a great day for us in terms of our hooker stocks. Then there is JJ [Kotze], who is also still suspended next week, so it is a problem."

The Stormers have a week to collect themselves before they host Ulster on Saturday.