Hartzenberg scores brace as Stormers see off Edinburgh

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers made it two wins from two matches in the 2022/2023 United Rugby Championship season after they recorded a 34-18 victory over Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday.

The home side scored four tries on their way to victory, which means they bagged a bonus point for the second week in a row.

Suleiman Hartzenberg, who is only 19, scored two of his team’s tries, while Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba marked his debut for the Capetonians with a try as well.

The Stormers also had to play the final five minutes with 14 men after replacement prop Sazi Sandi was sent off for a head-on-head tackle.

Manie Libbok kicked 14 points for the Stormers while Blair Kinghorn booted eight for Edinburgh.

Kinghorn kicked Edinburgh’s first points in the sixth minute as the visitors put pressure on the Stormers.

The hosts were prone to ill-discipline in their own 22 throughout the first half and their repeated infringements caught up with them when Libbok was sent to the sin bin.

Edinburgh had been well on top against 15 men and eventually chalked up the game’s opening try after 29 minutes when, following a period of scrum after scrum on the Stormers’ five-metre line, Pierre Schoeman burrowed over from close range, with Kinghorn adding the extras.

Libbok returned to the field with the Stormers finally enjoying some possession outside their own half and Edinburgh were soon down to 14 themselves when Stuart McInally was penalised for not rolling away after hauling down Angelo Davids just short of the line.

The hosts pulled back to 10-7 before half-time after Deon Fourie emerged from a rolling maul to touch down and Libbok split the posts.

Debutant Dweba added a second in similar circumstances after the break, with Libbok making it 14-10 before stretching the lead further with a penalty.

The Stormers lost Evan Roos to the bin for using excessive force in a tussle with Nick Haining, and Kinghorn reduced the deficit by three from the resulting penalty, but it was back to seven shortly after the hour mark thanks to another Libbok effort.

Hartzenberg then intercepted and ran from deep inside his own half to touch down, leaving Libbok with a straightforward conversion, before Sandi saw red for a head-on-head contact with Jamie Ritchie five minutes from time.

Cherry responded with an unconverted try but Hartzenberg had the final say by clinching the try bonus, with Libbok completing the scoring.

Man of the Match

In a match that was dominated by the forwards for a long time, the individual honour was handed to veteran prop Brok Harris for his work in the Stormers pack.

Play of the match

Although they ran in four tries, the Stormers’ most eye-catching move was arguably one that did not end in a touchdown.

Needing to find a spark in the first half, the hosts spread the ball right to Dan du Plessis, who evaded a couple of tackles before sending Davids dancing towards the line.

He was stopped just short, with McInally yellow-carded for not rolling away, but it certainly marked a turning point in the Stormers’ fortunes.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Fourie, Dweba, Hartzenberg 2
Cons: Libbok 4
Pens: Libbok 2

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Schoeman, Cherry
Con: Kinghorn
Pens: Kinghorn 2

Red card: Sazi Sandi (Stormers, 75′ – high tackle, head on head tackle)

Yellow cards: Manie Libbok (Stormers, 22 – cynical play, deliberate knock-on); Stuart McInally (Edinburgh, 39′ – cynical play, slowing the ball down); Evan Roos (Stormers, 52′ – foul play)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie (captain), 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Ernst van Rhyn, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Sacha Mngomezulu.

Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (co-captain), 5 Grant Gilchrist (co-captain), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Glen Young, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Chris Dean.

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa) & Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Adam Jones (Wales)

Additional source: @URCOfficial