Dylan Maart nominated for Investec Champions Cup Try of the Round

Stormers winger Dylan Maart is among the Investec Champions Cup Round 2 Try of the Round nominees. Give him your support South Africa.

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Maart scored a brace of tries in the Stormers’ 42-21 Investec Champions Cup win over La Rochelle in Gqeberha on Saturday.

REPORT: Stormers subdue spirited La Rochelle

At 29, when many players are well-established in their careers, Maart made a life-altering decision to leave his job as a warehouse worker at a bottling plant and betting everything on rugby.

Two years later, that gamble has taken him from the fringes of South African rugby to the Currie Cup podium, the Vodacom URC stage and the bright lights of the Champions Cup with the Stormers.

“I played rugby in primary school, but nothing in high school, for various reasons,” Maart told Rapport. “Things weren’t good at home. There were many nights when there was no food and we went to sleep hungry.”

At just 13, he worked as a taxi guard – opening doors, collecting fares, carrying bags – simply to help put food on the table. It was also the only way he could get to school in Paarl, riding for free because he worked on the taxi.

But Maart never let go of his love for the game.

When his chance finally came, he grabbed it with both hands, winning promotion and silverware with the Boland Cavaliers, becoming a cornerstone of a Griquas side that ended a 55-year Currie Cup drought, and now making his mark in Stormers colours following a loan deal.

The Stormers are two from two in the Investec Champions Cup and have put themselves in a position to host a last 16 home play-off and more home play-offs because of their excellent start.

The Stormers, in 2025/26 are eight wins from eight starts in all competitions, with just two of those wins coming at their home venue, the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

They play the Lions in their final match of the year in Cape Town at the DHL Stadium on Saturday. It is in the URC in what will be their ninth match of the 2025/26 season.

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