Double Bok concern as Stormers bully Sharks into submission

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers secured a 39-22 bonus-point win over the Sharks in Round Three of the United Rugby Championship at DHL Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts outscored the Sharks by six tries to three, with the visitors leaving Cape Town empty-handed.

The Stormers’ scrum proved to be the difference, with the Sharks winning 50 percent on their own feed during the first half and 57 percent in the game overall after a slight improvement in the second half.

The match was scrappy at times, but there were also moments of brilliance from both sides as well as the game opened up in the second stanza.

The Sharks’ discipline was also an issue, having conceded two yellow cards which the Stormers exploited.

There will be a concern for JP Pietersen and Rassie Erasmus with Springboks Vusi Moyo and Eben Etzebeth going off with injuries during the first half.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Stormers got off to the perfect start when Seabelo Senatla crossed the line in the corner after five minutes of play following a series of penalties conceded by the Sharks.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stretched the home side’s lead to eight points with a penalty goal in the 13th minute after the Sharks conceded a scrum penalty on their own feed.

The Sharks responded immediately with a try by Manu Tshituka after Leolin Zas conceded a soft penalty for being offside inside his 22.

Senatla was denied a brace in the 18th minute after having a foot in touch, before Gianni Lombard on his Sharks debut slotted a long-range penalty to level matters at 8-8 in the 29th minute.

Trouble followed for the Sharks when Matt Romao was yellow-carded for a grasscutter tackle on Jonathan Roche in the 34th minute.

The Stormers punished the Sharks immediately with a rolling maul try through Hacjivah Dayimani in the 35th minute. Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion made it a seven-point game.

The home side crossed the line after the halftime siren when Andre-Hugo Venter dotted down off a rolling maul as Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted the conversion to send his side into the sheds with a 14-point lead.

The Sharks were also down to 13 players when Tshituka was sent to the sinbin following repeated infringements in the red zone from the visitors.

Continues below…

The Stormers got off to the perfect start when Leolin Zas crossed the line from close range in the 41st minute for the bonus-point try.

The home side extended their lead in the 47th minute when Dayimani grabbed a brace following a dominant five-metre scrum after Ethan Hooker carried the ball back into his in-goal area.

The Sharks responded through Romao with a rolling maul try in the 50th minute, with Lombard adding the extras before Phepsi Buthelezi backed it up with a score of his own to close the scoreboard gap.

The Stormers hit back by means of a rolling maul in the 63rd minute through JJ Kotze before Dayimani was denied a hat-trick following a knock-on by Damian Willemse in the build-up in the 71st minute.

The Sharks had one final opportunity to attack from set-piece but conceded a free kick at the line-out which brought an end to proceedings.

Player of the Match: Leolin Zas’ try in the second half, after showing good appreciation of the laws at the breakdown, gave the Stormers a solid buffer to work with for the rest of the game. He made two linebreaks and nine carries as well.

Scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Senatla, Dayimani 2, Venter, Zas, Kotze
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3
Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu

For Sharks:
Tries: Tshituka, Romao, Buthelezi
Cons: Lombard 2
Pen: Lombard

Yellow cards: Matt Romao (Sharks, 34′: Dangerous tackle – No arms in the tackle), Manu Tshituka (Sharks, 40 ‘: Repeated team infringements in the red zone – collapsing a maul illegally)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Riley Norton, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Wandisile Simelane.

Sharks: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi,7 Manu Tshituka, 6 Matt Romao, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Eduan Swart,1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Esethu Mnebelele, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Stephan Lewies, 21 Nick Hatton, 22 Ivan van Zyl, 23 Gianni Lombard

Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)