Following a 42-21 victory for the Stormers over La Rochelle, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup encounter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
The top line
Stormers lit up Gqeberha with a blistering opening salvo that set the tone for a contest brimming with ambition and physicality, and when Dylan Maart darted through for the first try from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s vision inside five minutes, La Rochelle looked as if they might crumble.
Leolin Zas finished out wide after a layered phase play that stretched La Rochelle’s defensive seams before La Rochelle hit back through hooker Quentin Lespiaucq with the Stormers twice denied by the TMO.
Into the second half, where the scoreboard ticked relentlessly: Andre-Hugo Venter powered over from a maul and when Maart crossed again early in the second half, the bonus point was banked with ruthless efficiency. Warrick Gelant’s try pushed the Stormers into a commanding position.
Yet La Rochelle refused to fold. Nika Sutidze’s score showcased their ability to exploit fractured defensive edges, and Nathan Bollengier’s late effort underlined the resilience of a pack built on youthful energy. At 42–21, the margin reflects Stormers’ dominance, but the narrative is richer; a French side blooding teenagers in the furnace of South African summer, clawing back momentum through grit and ambition.
Cobus Reinach, in his first Stormers appearance on home soil, was the heartbeat; sniping around the fringes, dictating tempo, and igniting transition play that left La Rochelle scrambling. This was a performance that married precision with power and it felt like a homecoming statement from a player whose tempo and vision defined the early exchanges and whilst Stormers march north with confidence, La Rochelle leave with lessons and a glimpse of a future built on fearless youth.
Sacha brilliant but Reinach the brains
From the opening exchanges, this game belonged to the Stormers’ ambition, and at the heart of that ambition was Feinberg-Mngomezulu. His first major act was a moment of pure invention; a grubber threaded through a narrow La Rochelle defensive line, reading their condensed shape and punishing it with precision. Maart finished, but the try was all Sacha’s vision. It was a statement that he would play on the front foot, and for the next hour, he kept asking questions with every touch, short kicks to turn defenders, flat passes to stress the line, and offloads that carried risk and reward in equal measure.
The numbers underline his attacking influence and the Stormers produced 20 line breaks to La Rochelle’s six, with Sacha’s fingerprints on the first two scores. His off-load for Maart’s turnover try after Gelant’s steal was outrageous, a flash of instinct that turned defence into points in seconds. He kicked two penalties and converted twice, yet missed one from the left touchline. He carried with intent, but when the game demanded control, the picture changed and his exit and territorial work still have some way to go to match the best in class at ten.
Stormers kicked 22 times to La Rochelle’s 18, yet managed only 624 kick metres. His longest kick barely cleared thirty. La Rochelle’s ruck speed at seventy percent kept them alive, whilst Stormers’ own sixty-three percent gave Reinach the keys. The scrum-half was the architect of the win, possibly the lead role to SFM’s support act as he offered box-kick precision, tempo calls, and exit clarity. In a nutshell, Reinach shaped the structure, Sacha painted the chaos.
Reinach in numbers
Let’s look at the Reinach factor in detail, the man who was directing tempo and field position whilst stitching together the first wave of scores.
The clearest on-ball imprint was the scoring chain for Maart, where Gelant pilfered, fed Reinach, and the scrum-half released Feinberg-Mngomezulu who sent Maart over, a sequence that captured his speed of thought and his ability to connect the inside to the edge at the crucial moment.
Around that direct contribution, the team metrics reflect the context Reinach was controlling, with live data at the midpoint showing Stormers ahead on entries and conversion in the 22 and using ruck speed to stress La Rochelle. Specifically, there were six entries with a 2.17 average conversion versus seven entries at 1.0 for the visitors and a 63 per cent sub three second ruck rate for Stormers versus 70 percent for La Rochelle in the first half, which still translated into more structured pressure from Reinach’s side given territory and scoreboard control.
Stormers also kicked more from hand in the opening half at 16 to eight, which fits the pattern of Reinach’s contestable box-kicking game and the territorial squeeze it creates, even as individual kick counts are not published in the live centre for this fixture.
For season context, EPCR’s readout around this round had Stormers at 29 kicks from hand and 845 kick metres to date, a profile that Reinach complements with his tempo variety and decision-making from the base, and his starting role here was part of a deliberate half-back selection that was flagged pre-match as a major boost for the Stormers spine, exactly as it turned out.
Stormers player ratings: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ‘continues to deliver’ the outrageous as ‘Springbok in waiting’ dominates
Youngsters pass test
La Rochelle eight Lucas Andjisseramatchi, just 19, carried the captaincy burden in Gqeberha against a Stormers side brimming with power and ambition, a decision that spoke volumes about Ronan O’Gara’s faith in youth and the cultural shift towards accelerated development. Born in 2006 and standing 188 cm, 102 kg, the Massy academy graduate had only 12 senior appearances before this fixture, with seven logged this season, including two Champions Cup outings and a mere 142 minutes across five Top 14 games. His statistical footprint here was modest; 12 minutes, no carries of note, no defensive errors, but the symbolism was seismic, a teenager entrusted to lead in one of Europe’s most hostile environments.
Performance-wise, La Rochelle’s young pack, featuring Andjisseramatchi alongside Kirill Fraindt and Charles Kante-Samba, struggled to impose themselves against a Stormers unit that dominated collision zones and maul platforms. Stormers won 92% of their own rucks and forced six turnovers, whilst La Rochelle conceded three penalties at scrum time and lost two lineouts – critical moments that stifled momentum. Andjisseramatchi’s defensive contribution was disciplined: no missed tackles, but his carrying game was neutralised by Stormers’ layered defensive screens led by Evan Roos and Ben-Jason Dixon.
Yet beyond raw metrics lies the developmental narrative: O’Gara praised his composure and ability to “take charge of the week,” qualities that transcend numbers and hint at leadership DNA. In a match where experience told, Stormers’ maul efficiency and breakdown dominance dictated tempo, but the exposure for Andjisseramatchi and his cohort is invaluable. They were outmuscled, yes, but not outclassed in intent, and in the unforgiving theatre of Champions Cup rugby, that resilience marks the first steps of a trajectory that could redefine La Rochelle’s succession planning.
Pool impact
Stormers’ 42–21 triumph over La Rochelle delivers a power shift in Pool Three, propelling the South African side to 10 points and a commanding early lead. The bonus-point win not only underscores their attacking depth – six tries spread across forwards and backs – but also sends a clear message about their ability to impose tempo and physicality in home conditions. With 42 points scored and defensive resilience limiting La Rochelle to three tries, Stormers now travel to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers with confidence, though the challenge of adapting to northern winter conditions looms large.
For La Rochelle, the defeat leaves them staring at a must-win scenario against Leinster at Stade Marcel-Deflandre. Anything short of victory risks leaving them reliant on permutations later in the pool stages, and Leinster’s precision and depth will severely test a squad that leaned heavily on youthful energy in Gqeberha. O’Gara’s gamble on emerging talent may pay dividends long-term, but the short-term arithmetic is brutal: they need points now.
Elsewhere, Leinster’s narrow success over Leicester keeps the pool tight behind Stormers, setting up a three-way contest for the top two spots. With only four rounds to play, bonus points and away wins will define survival. After this opening salvo, Stormers look best placed to dictate terms, if they can translate their coastal dominance into European winter resilience.
READ MORE: Investec Champions Cup, Stormers v La Rochelle: Result, Stats, Lineups and More
