Friday, and the weekend starts tonight in Scotland. Cape Town has waited a long time for the Siya Kolisi Stormers comeback, and it finally happens at the Hive Stadium. Bafana have one more night out in Cairo, the Proteas are counting hamstrings, and the race for MTN8 final tickets started this morning.
1. The Big One: the Siya Kolisi Stormers comeback is real
More than five years after his last start in Stormers blue, Siya Kolisi is in their starting XV for tonight’s URC round 2 game against Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium, kick-off 20:45 SAST. It will be his 119th appearance for the franchise he left for spells at the Sharks and Racing 92. The double World Cup winner does not have the armband, though: Ruhan Nel captains the side. Kolisi is one of five changes from the bonus-point win in Galway, and Stefan Ungerer and Yaqeen Ahmed start together at nine and ten, with Ahmed in for the injured Jurie Matthee. Edinburgh at home is never a gentle evening, so this is a real test of how fast he slots back in. The full team and John Dobson’s thinking are in our preview.
Edinburgh v Stormers: our preview
2. The Matchday Move: a South African Saturday triple-header
Once Kolisi is done in Scotland, Saturday belongs to the other three. The Lions get the day going at Ellis Park against the Ospreys at 13:45 SAST. The Sharks take on Leinster at Kings Park at 18:30 SAST, the big home test of the round. Then the Bulls finish the night at Thomond Park against Munster at 20:45 SAST. Those times come from the URC’s own fixture listing, converted to SAST. Round 1 went perfectly for our four, and the URC’s own review said South Africans swept the board. Two home games and two away trips will tell us more. Broadcasters and the rest of the weekend sit in our fixture guide.
3. The Talking Point: five hamstrings and counting
Tony de Zorzi limped off with a left hamstring problem while Australia batted in Potchefstroom on Wednesday, and he could not bat in the chase. That makes five Proteas with hamstring trouble, alongside Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka, a week before the first Test at Kingsmead on Friday 9 October. Rabada made the 18-man preliminary squad so he has time to prove his fitness. The other three were left out to keep rehabbing. The group is cut to 15 after the Durban camp, with uncapped Marques Ackerman pushing for a spot. Our view: five of the same injury is no longer bad luck. Fans deserve a straight answer on workloads before the Test series starts.
4. The Stat That Matters: four in a row
Four. That is how many MTN8 titles Orlando Pirates have won on the trot, and next Saturday they play for a fifth. It is their fifth straight final, and this time Mamelodi Sundowns stand in the way at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday 10 October, kick-off 18:00 SAST. Nobody owns a cup forever, but the Buccaneers are doing their best to make this one feel like home. Tickets went on sale online at 10:00 today through Open Tickets, at R150 each, with a limit of four per buyer. If you want to be in Durban for this one, do not wait until next week.
5. The One to Watch: Bafana against Egypt in Cairo
Pitso Mosimane’s return could hardly have started better: a 2-1 win over Guinea at Orlando Stadium, then a 5-0 thrashing of Eritrea, and Bafana sit top of Group D in AFCON 2027 qualifying. Sunday asks a harder question. Egypt host the friendly at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday 4 October, kick-off 20:00 SAST, and the Pharaohs won the last meeting, a Mohamed Salah penalty settling it 1-0 at AFCON 2025 on 26 December. Mosimane knows the city well from his Al Ahly years, when he won the CAF Champions League twice. It is only a friendly, but it is a proper measuring stick for a young squad. The build-up and Mosimane’s thinking are in our preview.
Egypt v Bafana Bafana: our preview
Kolisi back in blue, Pirates hunting a fifth straight MTN8 crown, Bafana testing themselves in Cairo and a medical room that needs a bigger door. Settle it at the braai: which South African team ends this weekend happiest?