Yaqeen Ahmed scored two tries in the last eight minutes as the Stormers beat Scarlets 52-40 in Round 4 of the United Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The second came in the final minute of a match the Stormers had led 33-14 at the break, and then let slip to 40-40 with ten minutes left.
Ahmed’s first, under the posts, made it 47-40. His second, off a counter-attack, closed out a game that produced 14 tries.
Five Tries Before The Break
Tighthead Zachary Porthen opened the scoring off a lineout move, and the Stormers were 12-7 up inside the opening quarter.
Scarlets hooker John McKee was sent to the sin bin in the first half. The visitors scored anyway, centre Joe Roberts finishing an overlap while his side was a man down.
Haashim Pead, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Seabelo Senatla all crossed, and replacement Deon Fourie finished a maul on the stroke of half-time to make it 33-14.
Five tries, four of them converted by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Scarlets had two, both converted by fly-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, and they went in 19 points behind.
How The Stormers Beat Scarlets After The Fightback
Scarlets scored four tries after the interval and 26 points in all.
Wing Macs Page went over early in the half. Roberts picked off a Stormers pass for his second, and captain Josh Macleod scored in the 61st minute to cut the lead to 40-33.
Roberts then completed his hat-trick, Leggatt-Jones converted, and a side that has never beaten the Stormers in this competition was level at 40-40.
Olly Reid’s try had been the only Stormers score of the second half to that point. They had another ruled out with the match level and ten minutes to play.
Possession was close to even across the afternoon, running at roughly 49-52 percent in the Stormers’ favour on the live trackers. The difference was not the ball. It was what Scarlets did with it once they found space out wide and through the middle.
Ahmed ended it. He cut a hole in the Scarlets defence to score under the posts, and then ran in the last of the 14 tries with the clock dead.
Haashim Pead’s First Start For The Stormers
Pead was making his first start for the club at scrumhalf, and he scored his first try for the Stormers in it.
He also made the line breaks that set the tone of the first half and combined repeatedly with Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Rugby365 made him their player of the match.
Paul de Villiers captained the Stormers for the second time, with Macleod leading Scarlets. Robbie Jenkinson refereed.
Riley Norton got through a heavy tackle count in the second row. For Scarlets, scrumhalf Dane Blacker was the busiest passer on the field.
The Stormers’ Sixth United Rugby Championship Win Over Scarlets
The Stormers take five log points from this one. Four for the win, and one more for the try bonus, which goes to any side scoring four or more tries in a match.
Scarlets take a point for their own six tries. They do not take a losing bonus — that is awarded to a side beaten by seven points or fewer, and the margin here was 12.
It is six wins from six for the Stormers against Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship. The last meeting, in Llanelli on 10 October 2025, finished 34-0 to the Stormers.
Nothing about this one resembled that. The Stormers conceded six tries at home to a side they had shut out a year ago, and needed a replacement to score twice in the closing minutes to keep the record intact.
Both teams arrived in form. The Stormers had beaten the Sharks 39-22 in the URC and Bristol Bears 49-12 in the Champions Cup in the fortnight before. Scarlets had edged Benetton 27-26 and put 47 past Newcastle in the Challenge Cup.
The Scorers
Stormers (8 tries, 6 conversions):
- Tries: Zachary Porthen, Haashim Pead, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Seabelo Senatla, Deon Fourie, Olly Reid, Yaqeen Ahmed 2
- Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 6
Scarlets (6 tries, 5 conversions):
- Tries: Joe Roberts 3, Ioan Jones, Macs Page, Josh Macleod
- Conversions: Carwyn Leggatt-Jones 5
