Late try fires Stormers into the top eight
REPORT: The Stormers boosted their play-off hopes in the United Rugby Championship with a 29-17 win over Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.
The Cape Town-based franchise scored four tries to two for the much-needed victory in Wales.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!
The Stormers started the match in 12th position on the URC table. However, they leapfrogged into seventh with 33 points, courtesy of an Andre-Hugo Venter try in the closing minutes of the Round 13 clash.
When it mattered most. #SCAvSTO #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/1NUzeyvLmA
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) March 22, 2025
The opening exchanges were intense, with the Stormers absorbing some pressure on defence and then moving into opposition territory.
The Stormers were the first team on the scoreboard.
They absorbed some pressure on defence and then moved into opposition territory.
The first try saw Gloucester-bound Ben Loader finish in the corner after some good interplay from forwards and backs.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed the conversion with a wayward kick.
The second try saw them come from their own half as a few outrageous dummies from Warrick Gelant and some breathtaking offload by Feinberg-Mngomezulu saw Deon Fourie cross the line.
Fourie’s outing was cut short. Unfortunately, the flank had to leave the field in the 27th minute after colliding with captain Salmaan Moerat. Fourie was replaced by Willie Engelbrecht.
The Scarlets finally got on the board in the 30th minute. Young wing Ellis Mee dotted down after some strong carries by the pack.
Ioan Lloyd added the extras and narrowed the deficit to just five points.
The Stormers were eager to hit back; however, a solid tackle by Marnus van der Merwe on Joseph Dweba ended their attack.
The Scarlets were gradually gaining momentum, but a no-arms tackle by Alec Hepburn saw them go down to 14 men.
The Stormers had the final say in the first half as Feinberg-Mngomezulu extended the lead to 15-7 with a successful penalty.
Although down to 14 men, the hosts struck first in the second half. Spurred on by Marnus van der Merwe and Taine Plumtree, the Scarlets put on a brave attack before fullback Ioan Nicholas scored.
Lloyd added the extras to reduce the gap to one point.
John Dobson’s men really struggled in the second half, and it took a while for them to respond.
However, when they did, it was emphatic as Leolin Zas went straight through the defensive line from a set move off an attacking line-out.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras for the 22-14 lead.
Next came a Scarlets score. Lloyd kicked a penalty to narrow the deficit and bring them within range.
The Scarlets had momentum as Archie Hughes made a break, but a great defensive effort by Warrick Gelant halted the score.
Instead, it was the Stormers who delivered the final blow as replacement hooker Andre-Hugo Venter scored to seal the bonus point and the win for the visitors.
Player of the match: The big news was the return of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and the young man did not disappoint. He added nine points to the team’s tally and was attack well. However, our nod goes to Warrick Gelant. The fullback was vital on attack but his defensive work was just as impressive.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Mee, Nicholas
Cons: Lloyd 2
Pen: Lloyd
For Stormers:
Tries: Loader, Fourie, Zas, Venter
Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3
Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Yellow card: Alec Hepburn (Scarlets, 40 – reckless action, no arms tackle)
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Macs Page, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Gabe Hawley, 19 Jarrod Taylor, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Charlie Titcombe, 23 Tomi Lewis.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Jurie Matthee, 23 Damian Willemse.
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Mike English (Wales), Tom Spurrier (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
United Rugby Championship
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