Bristol Bears were beaten 49-12 by the Stormers at the DHL Stadium on Saturday in Round One of the 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup

A brave young Bristol Bears side were eventually on the end of a 49-12 thumping by the DHL Stormers in their Champions Cup opener on Saturday as the South African side ran in seven tries on their home soil.

The home side were on top from the start in Cape Town, with Seabelo Senatla scoring their first try in the seventh minute before Leolin Zas added a second eight minutes later.

Joe Owens broke away down the wing for a solo try for Bristol in the 22nd minute but Jonny Roche restored Stormers’ advantage before the half-hour mark.

JJ Kotze was shown a 20-minute red card for head-to-head contact before the break, while a yellow card for Zas – resulting in a disallowed try – gave the Bears a significant numerical advantage that they took advantage of through a first try for the club from Sol Moody.

However, Roche then scored his second and the final 10 minutes was a horror show for Bristol as they conceded three more tries.

First, Warrick Gelant crossed, then Andre-Hugo Venter got in on the act before Vas ended an eventful game with his second – with all seven tries converted by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

South West rugby writer John Evely takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Bristol Bears …

15. Tobi Wilson - 7

The full-back has his best game in a Bears shirt as he used his footwork to find gaps with the ball in hand repeatedly. Lively throughout.

14. Max Pepper - 5

The winger did well to pull off a choke tackle to stop the Stormers scoring a try and then showed his utility ability by moving into scrum half when Marmion made way. Had a try disallowed for a forward pass in the build-up

13. Matias Moroni - 5

The most experienced player in the Bears squad had a moment to forget as his forward pass caused a try for Pepper to be scrubbed off.

12. Jack Bates - 7

The centre made some powerful runs throughout and caught the eye with a stunning 50m break in the second half which deserved to finish in a try, but Tobi Wilson kicked the ball away without much of a plan deep in the opposition 22.

11. Aidan Boshoff - 4

The winger got done for pace on the outside by Seabelo Senatla for the former sevens star's first try and was a spectator in attack, although through little fault of his own. The Welshman suffered a moment to forgot as he and Kieran Marmion collided horribly both going for the same high ball to serve up a try on a plate for Roche.

10. Sam Worsley - 7

The fly-half looked so much sharper than against Saracens last week as he challenged the line as a runner and made decisive passes flat to the game line.

9. Kieran Marmion - 6

The scrum-half was on the wrong end of a thunderous head-on-head collision with hooker JJ Kotze, which saw the Stormers forward given a 20-minute red card just before half-time. The Irishman gave a brilliant miss-pass down the blindside to create Owen's try but he then got his communication wrong with Boshoff as they both went for the same high ball with calamitous results.

1. Jake Woolmore - 5

The Bears scrum was under the pump throughout as the PREM side looked to get the ball in and out of the set piece as quickly as possible before coughing up penalties.

2. Tomas Gwilliam - 5

The hooker will be kicking himself that he had the ball stripped by Siya Kolisi just before half-time as the Bears were attacking from a 5m lineout with the South African side a man down following the 20-minute red card.

3. Jimmy Halliwell - 5

The tighthead prop once again showed his carrying prowess as he bumped off attempted tacklers but was under real stress in the scrum.

4. Pedro Rubiolo - 6

Not at his barnstorming best, but the Argentina international was at the heart of the resistance against the Springbok-packed side.

5. Josh Caulfield - 6

Back from an ACL injury to make his first appearance of the season having re-signed for the Bears from Ealing, the lock was industrious throughout.

6. Joe Owen - 7

The flanker had a strong game as he was the go-to man at the lineout and took his first half try superbly as he took a miss-pass from Marmion down the blindside, raced down the right wing and backed his physicality to bounce off Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu not once, but twice, keeping his feet in play expertly as the Springbok fly-half came back to have a second shot at him.

7. Kenzie Jenkins - 5

The flanker was Bristol's second-highest tackler, but with just 10 as his opposite number, South African skipper Siya Kolisi rather ran amok.

8. Luka Ivanishvili - 7

The Georgian's reputation continues to grow as once again he was a pest at the breakdown, winning turnovers for his side and finishing as the top tackler. Perhaps not a natural number eight, he did well in the makeshift position.

16. Sol Moody - 6

17. Andrew Turner - 5

18. Sam Scott - 5

19. Harry Wells - 6

20. Paddy Pearce - 5

21. Ollie Harris - 5

22. James Williams - 5

23. Victor Worsnip - 5