The Capetonians start their four-week tour of the north against the Glasgow Warriors, while the team from Durban and Welsh side Ospreys will make history when they square off at the Twickenham Stoop in London. Both matches are scheduled for Friday evening.
On Saturday, Zebre Parma welcome the Vodacom Bulls to Italy, with the only fixture on Sunday will see Benetton face the Emirates Lions in Treviso.
History is on the side of Glasgow in their matches against teams from the Republic, with the Warriors’ last 12 matches against South African opponents all won by the home side on the day.
Glasgow have won all eight their home matches against South African sides at Scotstoun Stadium in the Vodacom URC, something the DHL Stormers have also experienced as their only defeat in five matches against Scottish opponents coming in their previous trip to Scotstoun last January.
Upon naming their tour squad, DHL Stormers head coach John Dobson said that they will need to concentrate their preparations.
“While we are happy to have 10 log points from these first two games, this will be an altogether different challenge in vastly contrasting conditions,” said Dobson. “We are playing on an artificial pitch against an impressive Glasgow side, so we will have to make the most of all the training time we have after the travel.”
Also on Friday evening, the Twickenham Stoop will become the 53rd ground and the first in England to host a Vodacom URC match when Ospreys host the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
Ospreys broke a three-game losing run in the competition with their 34-31 victory over Zebre Parma in Swansea last weekend, but they are without a win in their last 10 encounters with South African opponents since they beat the Southern Kings in Gqeberha in 2019.
However, the London venue won’t be altogether strange for the team from Durban as they have faced the Crusaders there in Vodacom Super Rugby in 2011, as well as Harlequins in last year’s Investec Champions Cup.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks have lost two of their last three matches against Welsh regions.
South African eyes will then switch to Italy, where the two Gauteng franchises will be looking to bounce back from defeats last weekend.
Zebre Parma host the Vodacom Bulls, who will be looking for their first victory away from home in the Vodacom URC since their trip to Dragons in early January.
The team from Pretoria have not lost to Zebre though and beat the Italians by 45-7 on their only previous visit to Stadio Lanfranchi in February 2022.
On Sunday, Benetton will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run this season to three matches after beating Cardiff away and drawing at home to Munster last weekend.
However, the Italians have not beaten a South African opponent since their win against the DHL Stormers in Treviso in September 2021.
The Emirates Lions’ will be looking to repeat their only victory outside of South Africa in the last 12 months, which was on their most recent visit to Treviso last March, thereby extending their four-match winning run against Italian opponents.
Other games this weekend are between Leinster and Edinburgh in Dublin; Scarlets v Cardiff in Llanelli; Munster v Dragons in Cork; and Connacht v Ulster in Galway.
Match information:
Glasgow Warriors v DHL Stormers
Date: Friday, 3 November
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
SA Time: 21h35
Referee: Chris Busby
TV: SuperSport
Ospreys v Hollywoodbets Sharks
Date: Friday, 3 November
Venue: Twickenham Stoop, London
SA Time: 21h35
Referee: Mike Adamson
TV: SuperSport
Zebre Parma v Vodacom Bulls
Date: Saturday, 4 November
Venue: Stadio Lanfranchi, Parma
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Frank Murphy
TV: SuperSport
Benetton v Emirates Lions
Date: Sunday, 5 November
Venue: Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
SA Time: 15h30
Referee: Peter Martin
TV: SuperSport
