Hartzenberg stars as Stormers dismantle Edinburgh

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers bounced back in fine fashion, beating Edinburgh 43-21 in Round 12 of the United Rugby Championship.

Stormers wing Suleiman Hartzenberg scored a hat-trick of tries during the match against the Scottish giants at the Cape Town Stadium.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!

Leolin Zas and Evan Roos each bag a brace of tries as Stormers leapfrog Edinburgh and Ulster to move into sixth place on the URC table.

Edinburgh posted tries by wing Jake Henry, number eight Bill Mata and replacement hooker Paddy Harrison, all converted by Ben Healy.

Edinburgh were forced into a late change before kick-off as Emiliano Boffelli dropped out of the the starting XV due to a back spasm.

The Los Puma star was replaced by Chris Dean, while Wes Goosen had to shift to fullback, with debutant Jake Henry swapping wings.

James Lang was the replacement on the bench.

The Stormers made a flying start and went ahead after 10 minutes when they attacked from deep, showcasing some brilliant handling, before Libbok’s kick into space was gathered by Hartzenberg and he crossed unopposed.

Libbok added the conversion but Edinburgh were unfazed and they hit back through Henry, who gathered a loose ball 20 metres out and sprinted clear for a try which Healy converted.

Both teams had made their attacking intentions clear and the Stormers struck again when scrumhalf Paul de Wet fired out a long pass to fullback Damien Willemse, who perfectly timed a scoring delivery to Hartzenberg.

Libbok’s touchline conversion went over via the post and crossbar and he turned creator again just before half-time when another clever tactical kick caused chaos in Edinburgh’s defence.

The visitors could not deal with it, fumbling possession, and Zas enjoyed a simple run-in as the Stormers extended their lead to 12 points just before the break.

There was still time for Edinburgh to put themselves back in contention, with Mata charging over from the back of a lineout.

Healy’s conversion made it 19-14 but more scintillating handling by the Stormers created a bonus-point try for Zas that Matthee converted as he took over kicking duties while Libbok received treatment for a head wound.

Edinburgh’s woes continued early in the second period as Hartzenberg finished off another fine handling move to complete his hat-trick, then Roos went over and it was damage limitation for the visitors.

Harrison’s score briefly gave them hope of a possible losing bonus point but that was extinguished by Roos completing his try double.

Man of the Match: Suleiman Hartzenberg impressed outwide. However, our nod goes to Damian Willemse. The Stormers fullback enjoyed a field day in terms of possession and space as his team produced some scintillating rugby. Although he did not finish among the try-scorers, he was at the heart of many positive moments, proving a creative force that Edinburgh could not handle.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Hartzenberg 3, Zas 2, Roos 2
Cons: Libbok 2, Matthee

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Henry, Mata, Harrison
Cons: Healy 3

Yellow card: Charlie Shiel (Edinburgh, 76 – deliberate offside)

Teams

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Ben Loader.

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Jake Henry, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Currie, 11 Chris Dean, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ben Vellacott (captain), 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ben Muncaster, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 WP Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 James Lang.

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)

*Additional Source: @URCOfficial