Sluggish Stormers blown away by Exeter Chiefs
CHAMPIONS CUP REPORT: The Stormers’ first Champions Cup campaign has ended after they fell to a 17-42 defeat to Exeter Chiefs in their quarterfinal at Sandy Park on Saturday.
The Capetonians, who are the reigning United Rugby Championship champions, delivered a sluggish performance in the first half and they paid the price by going into the break 0-21 down.
They were livelier in the second half, but the Chiefs were too good in all facets of the game.
Exeter eventually ended the match with six tries with the Stormers crossing the whitewash three times.
Exeter took control early on and were rewarded for their domination of the ball when wing fullback Tom Wyatt cruised over on 13 minutes following a pinpoint cross-field kick from flyhalf Joe Simmonds.
The hosts crossed again on 21 minutes as Jack wing Nowell picked up at the base of a ruck and muscled through the heart of the Stormers’ defence, wriggling through two tackles and reaching out to plant down under the posts.
With errors littering the Stormers’ game, Chiefs notched a third try on 29 minutes – a slick line-out move saw centre Sean O’Brien release wing Olly Woodburn, who finished expertly.
Joe Simmonds couldn’t extend Exeter’s advantage on 33 minutes as his penalty drifted onto the right upright and bounced away, though his side would take a healthy lead into the break.
The Stormers were improved after the restart, but Exeter grabbed a fourth try on their first attack of the second half, No.8 Sam Simmonds hitting a flat ball and diving over unchallenged.
Scores from fullback Damian Willemse and wing Suleiman Hartzenberg offered the Stormers some hope heading into the final 20 minutes, but Exeter gave themselves some added breathing room when replacement hooker Jack Yeandle planted down at the back of a line-out maul.
The Stormers’ semifinal hopes were up in smoke after that score, but they had a third try on 76 minutes after a lengthy TMO review saw lock Marvin Orie’s effort awarded.
But Exeter signed off with a sixth try as they capitalised on a Willemse error, Woodburn offloading into the hands of replacement scrumhalf Tom Cairns, who could dot down with ease.
Man of the match: Damian Willemse was a livewire for the Stormers and he scored a great try as well. Captain Steven Kitshoff also made his presence felt in the scrums and the breakdowns. For Exeter, flyhalf Joe Simmonds controlled the game nicely and his kicking was outstanding. Jannes Kirsten was a powerhouse for Exeter in the physical exchanges, while Henry Slade had one of his best games of the season in the midfield. However, the award goes to Exeter wing Olly Woodburn. He made 82 metres with his 10 carries and it was influential out wide. He was also one of his team’s six try-scorers.
The scorers:
For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Wyatt, Nowell, Woodburn, S Simmonds, Yeandle, Cairns
Cons: J Simmonds 6
For Stormers:
Tries: Willemse, Hartzenberg, Orie
Con: Libbok
Teams:
Exeter: 15 Tom Wyatt, 14 Jack Nowell (captain), 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sean O’Brien, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Will Becconsall, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Jannes Kirsten, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Aidon Davis, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Stuart Hogg.
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Seabelo, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Ludovic Cayre (France), Jonathan Gasnier (France)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (France)
Additional source: @ChampionsCup
