Due to a Justin Bieber concert clash as well as other events booked up to a year in advance taking place at Cape Town’s Stadium, the Stormers, the reigning United Rugby Championship title holders, are forced to play some of their upcoming home Vodacom United Rugby Championship title defence games in Stellenbosch and Gqeberha this season.
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It was confirmed on Wednesday that due to a number of pre-booked events at their DHL Stadium home, the Stormers will have to move out and take their three home games to Stellenbosch’s Danie Craven Stadium and one to Gqeberha’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
In an announcement, the Stormers stated that “while every effort was made to avoid these clashes, the events at DHL Stadium had been booked up to a year in advance, while the United Rugby Championship fixtures could only be confirmed recently.”
The first two home games of the new season – against Connacht on 24 September, and Edinburgh on 1 October – will be played in Stellenbosch as the highly anticipated Justin Bieber concert takes place at the DHL Stadium on 28 September, which requires a significant amount of construction within the stadium.
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As reported by News 24, the Stormers’ Round nine clash with Welsh outfit Dragons set to take place on 3 December will be played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium due to preparations for the Cape Town Sevens at the the Stormers’ home ground the following weekend.
The Stormers will then be heading back to the Danie Craven Stadium to end their regular season against Italian outfit Benetton on 21 April 2023 as a Monster Jam truck show takes over at the Cape Town Stadium.
Of course their home ground will not be lost to them indefinitely. The Stormers will still be playing at least two significant matches at the DHL Stadium. They’ll host the Heineken Champions Cup with matches against London Irish in December and Clermont Auvergne in January.
There will also be Christmas- and New Year’s-themed derbies against the Bulls and Lions, while all of Western Province’s Carling Currie Cup home matches will take place at the Cape Town Stadium.