When 'AAA instinct' cost Stormers a famous win

It was another weekend of ‘what ifs’ for the South African teams in Europe’s premier competitions, the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.

The Stormers, Bulls, and Sharks were all squeezed out of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competitions.

In the Champions Cup, the Stormers were left heartbroken after their 27-28 loss to Toulon at the famous Stade Mayol in France on Saturday in a nail-biting clash.

The visitors had a chance to snatch a famous win in the dying seconds, opting to breach the Toulon tryline with a series of forward charges, rather than go for a dropgoal.

It was an “instinctive” decision they came to regret, as Toulon flank Charles Ollivon managed to get his body under the ball over the line.

It left the Stormers dejected, despite an ongoing ‘debate’ about the legitimacy of the French player’s action.

As much as the ‘experts’ will dissect the final call by the English duo of referee Christophe Ridley and TMO Ian Tempest, the Stormers could still have won if they had not adhered to their attacking instinct.

Veteran Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach reflected on the game as ‘falling a bit short’, but felt they could still be ‘proud of themselves’.

“There was a decision here or there that didn’t go our way, but that is the game,” the two-time World Cup winner said.

Fellow Bok Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who played in the Stade Mayol cauldron for the first time, even though he trained there back in 2022, said sitting on the bench (until the 51st minute) and soaking up the atmosphere at the iconic venue was “pretty special”.

* (LISTEN as Springbok and Stormers playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu explains why he did not go for a drop-goal in the dying stages of their heartbreaking Champions Cup loss to Toulon.….)

“The French people love their rugby, and it is a privilege to play here,” he said.

The 23-year-old, with 19 Test caps, said the Stormers got the game plan right.

“It doesn’t show that,” he said of the one-point loss, adding: “We grinded it out and stuck in the contest really well.

“We can be very proud of our performance.”

Speaking about the heartbreaking finish to the game, he said they needed a bit more ‘good fortune’ with some of the match officials’ calls.

Asked why he never opted to attempt a drop-goal in the final play of the match, when a three-pointer would have won the game for the visitors, the No.10 admitted he thought about it retrospectively.

However, in the moment, he went with what the team does instinctively.

“In the context of the game, it wasn’t a match where we were looking for a bonus point or points difference,” the Bok star said.

“On reflection, I could have dropped into the pocket.

“It’s easier said than done, [now that] things didn’t go our way.

“Some people would have tried it, some people would not have.”

Speaking about his Toulon counterpart, Tomas Albornoz, Feinberg-Mngomezulu said he appreciates the rival’s skills.

“I like the way he runs with the ball in two hands,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu said of the Argentine international, adding: “He has good acceleration and is nippy around the park.

“We must make the national teams first, to play against each other [more often].”

Loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani said from experience of two years in the French Top 14 with Racing 92, the 50-50 calls mostly go to the home team.

“We stayed in the fight and at the end we left it to a contest, and the 50-50 call did not go for us,” Dayimani said.

@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com