The DHL Stormers’ hopes of hosting a third-successive Vodacom United Rugby Championship final face an obstacle in the form of a tough tour including a re-match against defending champions Munster in Limerick.

MORE: Fresh twist for SA teams in 2023-24 URC

As part of a fresh twist in the URC format for 2023-24, South African teams will will tour the northern hemisphere twice rather than three times. This is aimed at reducing long-haul travel across the league and means one four-week in the early part of the season followed by a two-game tour after the Six Nations in 2024.

The Stormers have a tough set of fixtures for their first tour, which includes a re-match against Munster at Thomond Park and a clash with Franco Smith’s Glasgow Warriors, who went unbeaten at home in last season’s round-robin stage.

After returning from tour, the Stormers have last season’s winless wooden spoonists Zebre in Cape Town, but then go into another blockbuster summer schedule with the first two rounds of the Champions Cup (where they have been placed in a challenging pool) followed by home derbies against the Sharks and Vodacom Bulls on either side of Christmas.

In terms of their run-in, the Stormers host four successive games against Edinburgh, Ulster, Ospreys and Leinster, have a two-week tour where the face Dragons and Connacht, before bringing the curtain down on the round-robin stage against the Lions in Cape Town.

R1 –Sat, 21 October. 16:05
v Lions (a)

R2 – Sat, 28 October. 16:00
v Scarlets (h)

R3 – Fri, 3 Nov. 21:35
v Glasgow Warriors (a)

R4 – Sat, 11 Nov. 17:00
v Benetton (a)

R5 –Sat, 18 Nov. 19:15
v Munster (a)

R6 – Fri, 24 Nov. 21:35
v Cardiff (a)

R7 – Sat, 2 Dec. 19:15
v Zebre (h)

*Champions Cup R1 –8/9/10 Dec
*Champions Cup R2 – 15/16/16 Dec

R8 – Sat, 23 Dec. 19:15
v Vodacom Bulls (h)

R9 – Sat, 30 Dec. 19:00
v Sharks (h)

*Champions Cup R3 – 12/13/14 Jan
*Champions Cup R4 – 19/20/21 Jan

R10 – Sat, 17 Feb. 17:05
v Sharks (a)

R11 – Sat, 2 Mar. 17:05
v Vodacom Bulls (a)

R12 – Sat, 23 Mar. 17:05
v Edinburgh (h)

R13 – Sat, 30 Mar. 19:15
v Ulster (h)

R14 – Sun, 21 Apr. 19:15
v Ospreys (h)

R15 – Sat, 27 Apr. 19:05
v Leinster (h)

R16 – Fri, 10 May. 20:35
v Dragons (a)

R17 – Sat, 28 May. 18:05
v Connacht (a)

R18 – Sat, 1 Jun. 14:00
v Lions (h)

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