Stormers thump Bristol despite red card

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers scored seven tries on their way to a 49-12 victory over Bristol Bears in Round One of the Champions Cup.

John Dobson’s side overcame a 20-minute red card for JJ Kotze, and they were also down to 13 men at one stage in the second half when Leolin Zas was sent to the sin bin.

Bristol made life difficult for the home side during that period, but the Stormers just had too much class in the final quarter.

The Stormers also had to deal with a late blow before kick-off after captain Ruhan Nel was ruled out with an injury.

Wandi Simelane came into the midfield, while Paul de Villiers led the team for the first time.

Some poor defending from the visitors in the midfield allowed Seabelo Senatla to sprint away for the first try of the game in the seventh minute.

Senatla was then on hand to set up a try for his wing partner Leolin Zas in the 16th minute when he weaved his way through a few defenders before sending the offload for the finish.

However, Bristol silenced the home fans in the 23rd minute after Joe Owen was put into space to run down the touchline before brushing Feinberg-Mngomezulu aside to score in the corner.

With momentum shifting back to the Capetonians, centre Jonathan Roche ran away for his team’s third try after he was put into space by Damian Willemse.

The home side suffered a big blow a few minutes later when Kotzé’s game ended after he received a 20-minute red card for a head-on-head tackle on Kieran Marmion.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu had an opportunity to make it a 17-point lead before the break, but he pushed his penalty attempt wide.

At half-time, it was 21-7 to the home side.

Bristol dominated play in the opening minutes of the second half, and they also received another advantage when Zas was shown a yellow card for a high tackle.

It came from a TMO review after Cobus Reinach scored a try, which was eventually disallowed.

Moments later, Bristol’s Sol Moody broke away from a maul to go over for his team’s second try.

However, the visitors shot themselves in the foot a couple of minutes later after a miscommunication between their backline players under a high ball allowed Roche to pounce on a loose ball before sprinting away for a try.

The Stormers found themselves in the bonus-point position with a Warrick Gelant try in the 72nd minute before André-Hugo Venter made it comfortable with the Stormers’ sixth try a couple of minutes later.

Zas scored his second try before the end to rub salt in the visitors’ wound.

Man of the match: The award goes to Seabelo Senatla, who scored the opening try before having a hand in the second. It looks like he is enjoying his rugby, and he was an asset on attack once again.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Senatla, Zas 2, Roche 2, Gelant, Venter
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 7

For Bristol Bears:
Tries: Owen, Moody
Con: Worsley

Red card: JJ Kotzé (Stormers, 34′- foul play, head-on-head high tackle)

Yellow card: Leolin Zas (Stormers, 49′ – foul play, high tackle

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Wandi Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant.

Bristol Bears: 15 Tobi Wilson, 14 Max Pepper, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jack Bates, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Sam Worsley, 9 Kieran Marmion (captain), 8 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Kenzie Jenkins, 6 Joe Owen, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Jimmy Halliwell, 2 Tomas Gwilliam, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Sol Moody, 17 Andrew Turner, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Paddy Pearce, 21 Ollie Harris, 22 James Williams, 23 Victor Worsnip.

Referee: Kevin Bralley (France)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)