Stormers win big against Ulster but one glaring problem remains

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers secured a convincing 33-7 victory over Ulster at the DHL Stadium, but the scoreline told only part of the story after a far-from-convincing performance from the Capetonians.

Despite dominating large periods of the contest and eventually pulling clear, the hosts were guilty of numerous handling errors and wasted opportunities that made life far more difficult than it needed to be.

Ulster initially made the Stormers pay for their sloppy execution, taking an early lead and putting the home side under pressure. However, a red card before half-time shifted the momentum, allowing the Stormers to take control. There were flashes of brilliance from individuals, but it was only in the closing stages that their dominance was properly reflected on the scoreboard.

Both sides started out by kicking for territory in the early stages, with neither making any inroads with that tactic.

Early indications were that Ulster would have a torrid time in the scrums.

Yaqeen Ahmed created a bit of magic with a burst clear around the half-way line, but his layoff to Paul de Villiers was behind his teammate and the attack broke down, leading to an Ulster scrum.

The Stormers had further chances to capitalise after Ahmed’s break, with Markus Muller making a similar burst minutes later, but poor handling in the attacking phases let them down, and they came away with nothing.

It was all handling errors on the front foot, and they needed better execution.

It was another amateur mistake that almost resulted in Ulster’s first try after an eighth Stormers handling error. Captain David McCann capitalised on a dropped ball to bring Ulster over the try line but was held up.

Minutes later the visitors went one better, and Ulster opened their account with the first points of the game, a try scored by the captain and converted by Jack Murphy.

Ulster were all over the hosts, with Juarno Augustus the main instigator with his strong carries.

The visitors came close to scoring again as Matthew Devine got to within a couple of metres of the Stormers tryline. Cormac Izuchukwu gathered the ball but was penalised for a knock-on and it was a big opportunity lost for Ulster.

As the South Africans were mauling their way out of danger, the visitors were warned of multiple infringements, and when it happened again, Keynan Knox got his marching orders.

The Stormers used their numerical advantage to score their first try after a sneaky short pass by Ntuthuko Mchunu, and JD Schickerling got over the try line.

After 35 minutes, it was all square at 7-7.

When Cobus Reinach spotted space and chipped the ball ahead, Paul de Villiers pounced. He charged down Jack Murphy’s kick, gathered the ball cleanly, and dotted down for the Stormers’ second try of the day.

However, the Stormers’ first half was riddled with errors, with 14 turnovers, 11 of which came from dropped balls. The only thing that helped the hosts was their set-piece.
Some individuals did well (read Ahmed, Muller, De Villiers), but combined they looked out of sorts.

Ulster made a strong start to the second half, gathering the kick-off and keeping possession as they advanced to halfway, where they won a penalty for a seatbelt tackle to set up an attacking opportunity in Stormers territory.

But then Evan Roos grabbed the third try after a 60m run which started at the set-piece that saw Ulster going backward.

Ahmed converted and the Stormers were ahead 19-7.

Ulster started running more with ball in hand compared to all the kicks in the second half, but were found wanting in the rucks.

The Stormers’ basic errors didn’t subside in the second half, resulting in possession changing hands between the two teams repeatedly and it certainly wasn’t a classic in terms of execution.

By midway through the second half, the match had descended into a dull, stop-start affair, with both sides struggling to build momentum, making little ground and offering few signs of a scoring breakthrough.

Eventually, after managing to string together phases without any glitches, the Stormers grabbed their fourth try in the 70th minute after a hanging kick landed in the hands of Ruhan Nel in the trams.

Ahmed converted to take their lead to 26-7.

In the following movement, Ulster hit back with what looked like a try but Saebelo Senatla did brilliantly to hold the player up.

With five minutes, the Stormers lifted the tempo on attack for Ahmed to take the short pass at pace and slice through the defense to dive over for the try.

The South Africans’ dominance was now reflected on the scoreboard after they squandered several scoring opportunities in the first half.

Player of the Match: Paul de Villiers – his stats speak for themselves in this match, among them the most tackles in the game (15).

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Schickerling, De Villiers, Roos, Nel, Ahmed
Cons: Ahmed 4

For Ulster:
Tries: McCann
Cons: Murphy

Yellow card: Keynan Knox (Ulster, 29’, multiple infringements)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Markus Muller, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Riley Norton, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Wandile Mlaba, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Wandisile Simelane.

Ulster: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Michael Lowry, 13 James Hume, 12 Ben Carson, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Matthew Devine, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 David McCann (captain), 6 Cormac Izuchukwu, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Ben Donnell, 3 Keynan Knox, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan.
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Tom McAllister, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Martin Moloney, 21 Conor McKee, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Chay Mullins.

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa) & Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Ru Campbell (Scotland)