The Stormers next assignment in the United Rugby Championship come against Zebre in Parma on Saturday and the table topping visitors are looking to make it four wins from four.
Zebre v Stormers, Saturday 18th October, Parma, KO 20:45 (South African time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Italy), Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Weather Forecast - Parma
Zebre:
Zebre have won two and lost one of their first three matches and they finished the previous round in eighth positions with 9 log points.
Their two wins both came in home games and were nail biting affairs. They edged out Edinburgh 31-28 to land a bonus point in the opening round and followed up in Round 2 with a late score to see off the Lions 22-20. Zebre travelled for the first time in Round 3 where they were no match for the Ospreys who beat them 24-0.
At home to South African sides in 2024/25 Zebre lost 36-5 to the Stormers in Round 3 and 10-9 to the Lions in Round 5.
After this Zebre visit Leinster and we won’t see them in South Africa until the last two rounds of the regular season.
In the outright betting to win the URC title Zebre are 750/1 rank outsiders with Hollywoodbets
Stormers:
The Stormers boast a 100% record and finished Round 3 in top spot alongside Munster with 14 points, 3 clear of third placed Glasgow Warriors and 4 better off than the Bulls.
After two home wins, 35-0 against Leinster and then 26-10 over the Ospreys the Stormers first tour match came in Round 3 and they made short work of the Scarlets with a 34-0 victory, scoring 5 tries to pick a second bonus point of the campaign.
On tour in Europe last season the Stormers won at the Ospreys and Zebre Parma in Rounds 3 and 4 before losing at Edinburgh in Round 5. Later in the season they lost at Leinster and Ulster but won at the Scarlets.
After this the Stormers will visit Benetton and after the international break they resume away to Munster in Round 6.
In the outright betting to win the URC title the Stormers are now 8/1 with Hollywoodbets
Team News
Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Thomas Dominguez, 8 Giovanni Licata (c), 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Guido Volpi, 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Juan Pitinari, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 Franco Carrera, 20 David Odiase, 21 Migael Prinsloo, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Lorenzo Pani
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Wandisile Simelane
The Betting,
Average early show
Zebre +12.5 points at 9/10
Stormers -12.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for Round 4 of the URC will be available on this blog.
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