Stormers march into Champions Cup Round of 16
MATCH REPORT: It may not have been pretty, but it was effective as the Stormers were forced to work hard for their 39-26 victory over Leicester Tigers in their Champions Cup Round Four clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Following last week’s heavy 10-61 defeat to Harlequins, the Stormers produced a vastly improved performance on home soil.
They outscored Leicester Tigers by five tries to four to book their place in the Champions Cup play-offs.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The hosts were without the services of Damian Willemse, Warrick Gelant and Cobus Reinach, who were sidelined through injury. Ruhan Nel was also not considered as a precautionary measure.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu captained the Stormers for the first time in the clash against Leicester.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu got the match underway, but the contest began in scrappy fashion. Tempers flared early, with some pushing and shoving before Will Hurd was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Ntuthuko Mchunu in the fifth minute.
Mchunu was forced to leave the field shortly thereafter for a head injury assessment (HIA).
The game eventually settled, and the Stormers struck first. Jonathan Roche made a sharp line break before Paul de Villiers and Evan Roos combined, with Roos finishing off the move for the opening try. Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the conversion to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.
The visitors attempted to respond, but with a man down, they struggled to build momentum. Instead, it was the Stormers who extended their advantage, as Andre-Hugo Venter dotted down at the back of a well-executed rolling maul.
Leicester Tigers finally got on the scoreboard when the ball was shifted wide, allowing 19-year-old George Pearson to score under the posts.
Moments later, the visitors edged ahead. From a line-out, Will Wand showed excellent footwork before diving over for the try. Billy Searle added the conversion to hand Leicester a 14-12 lead.
The closing stages of the first half were intense. Leicester looked composed under the high ball, while the Stormers struggled at the line-out and with their discipline. They conceded a penalty for a no-arms tackle inside their own 22, but Searle failed to add the three points.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu then had a chance to regain the lead and made no mistake, slotting the penalty to send the Stormers into the break narrowly ahead at 15-14.
Leicester Tigers started the second half impressively. From the back of a powerful scrum, Jamie Blamire powered over the line for his side’s third try, with Searle converting to give the visitors a 21-15 advantage.
That lead was short-lived as the Stormers struck back through some sharp passing. Leolin Zas beat a couple of defenders before crossing the whitewash to restore the hosts’ lead at 22-21 after 50 minutes.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was shown a yellow card in the 63rd minute, but that did little to halt the Stormers’ momentum and Imad Khan made a huge impact from the bench.
Khan’s well-timed pop pass found JD Schickerling, who sold a dummy before scoring the Stormers’ bonus-point try. Khan then added the conversion and a penalty to extend the lead to 32-21.
The match ended dramatically when Khan’s kick was charged down, allowing Tom Manz to pounce on the loose ball and dive over for Leicester’s final try.
However, the replacement scrumhalf redeemed himself moments later, sealing the contest with an outstanding try at the death to cap a memorable Stormers victory.
Man of the match: Our nod goes to Evan Roos. He was really impressive, with his strong carries. He also scored a try and his turnover in the closing stages of the match proved to be crucial.
The scorers:
For Stormers:
Tries: Roos, Venter, Zas, Schickerling, Khan
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3, Khan
Pens: Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Khan
For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Pearson, Wand, Blamire, Manz
Cons: Searle 3
Yellow cards: Will Hurd (Leicester Tigers, 5 – high tackle), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers, 62 – leading with an elbow)
Teams
Stormers: 15 Wandisile Simelane, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (captain), 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Luke Burger, 23 JC Mars.
Leicester Tigers: 15 George Pearson, 14 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 13 Will Wand, 12 Joe Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Olly Cracknell (captain), 7 Sam Williams, 6 Joaquin Moro, 5 Harry Wells, 4 James Thompson, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Tareq Haffar
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobald-Thomas, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Ale Loman, 19 Tom Manz, 20 Emeka Ilione, 21 Ollie Allan, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Ryan Crowley
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (France)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (France), Benjamin Hernandez (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
