Stormers move up after slaying Dragons

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers will head into their final round United Rugby Championship match against Cardiff in fifth position after they beat the Dragons 48-12 in Cape Town on Saturday.

Superstar Damian Willemse celebrated his 100th cap for the home side by scoring one of his team’s seven tries during the 80 minutes.

Emotions were also running high for injured prop Brok Harris who received a guard of honour before kick-off.

Harris ended his 19-year career as the most-capped Stormers player with 170 appearances.

It was a fast start for the home side after Wandisile Simelane was put through a gap by Seabelo Senatla to sprint in for the game’s first try in the second minute. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extra two points with the conversion.

The Stormers nearly got their second try in the 20th minute, but Marcel Theunissen was held up over the tryline after a strong carry.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu had an opportunity to extend the lead in the 32nd minute, but his long-range penalty attempt went well wide.

The Capetonians eventually scored their second try in the 36th minute and it all started from a quick line-out inside the Dragons’ half.

The ball went wide and after some excellent passing, especially from Jospeh Dweba, Senatla was put into space to finish off some great play with an acrobatic score.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu made it 14-0 with the conversion.

The Stormers thought they had finished the half with a try by Willemse, but it was ruled out after the match officials spotted a ‘croc roll’ by captain Salmaan Moerat in the build-up to that score.

It was a great start to the second half for the visitors with Aaron Wainwright powering over for a try in the 44th minute after sustained pressure inside the Stormers’ 22. Angus O’Brien could not find the direction with his conversion attempt.

The Stormers responded to that try with a three-pointer by Feinberg-Mngomezulu a few minutes later.

Things got even better for the home side not long after the restart when Theunissen sprinted into space before feeding the ball to Stefan Ungerer, who had enough pace to run in for his side’s third try.

Willemse eventually got his celebratory try and the Stormers’ bonus point in the 56th minute and Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s third successful conversion made it a 24-point lead.

Cardiff made the scoreline look a bit more respectable with a try from Dane Blacker before the Stormers rubbed salt in the visitors’ wounds with Suleiman Hartzenberg finishing off some great attacking play to score another five-pointer.

The Stormers’ outside backs were on fire in the closing stages especially with Willemse running the show at No.10 and some great passing and offloading resulted in a try for replacement scrumhalf Paul de Wet.

The match ended on a high note for John Dobson’s side with Simelane scoring his second try just before full-time.

Man of the match: There were a few contenders, but the award has to go to Stormers loose forward Marcel Theunissen. He was good in all departments and his aggression in the physical exchanges helped his team gain the ascendency. He also showed his speed by creating a try for scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Simelane 2, Senatla, Ungerer, Willemse, Hartzenberg, De Wet
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3, Willemse 2
Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu

For Dragons:
Tries: Wainright, Blacker
Con: Evans

Yellow card: Salmaan Moerat (Stormers, 39′ – foul play, dangerous clear-out)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Louw Nel, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Dan du Plessis, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.

Dragons: 15 Huw Anderson, 14 Harry Rees-Weldon, 13 Harry Wilson, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Dan Lydiate, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Ryan Woodman, 4 Ben Carter (co-captain), 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 James Benjamin, 17 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Joe Davies, 20 Barny Langton-Cryer, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Lloyd Evans, 23 Ashton Hewitt.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

Photo credit: Stormers