Stormers on fire in compelling win over Sharks, says Dobson

Winning the contestables and the return of their Springbok stars helped to push the Stormers to a compelling 39-22 win over the previously unbeaten Sharks at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, coach John Dobson said.

Roared on by more than 40,000 fans in their new black kit, the Stormers crossed the whitewash six times to hand the Sharks a sobering third round United Rugby Championship defeat.

The bonus-point win will have infused the Cape side with confidence ahead of Saturday's opening game in the Investec Champions Cup against the Bristol Bears in Cape Town (kickoff 4.15pm).

Dobson heaped praise on loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani, who scored two tries in the win.

After losing to Edinburgh last week when their lineout malfunctioned, the Stormers delivered a much improved showing on home soil.

“It was a pretty compelling performance by us, and I never thought we were in trouble," Dobson said.

"Credit to assistant coach Rito Hlungwani, lock JD Schickerling and all the forwards.

"There was the obvious fault correction (poor lineout work) from last week, but I thought physically and defensively we stood up.

“What I liked about our game, which I haven’t talked to captain Ruhan Nel about, is that when we did win the contestables and got into their half, we played some nice rugby.

“We sort of had a bit of a flow, which we hadn’t had on the tour.

"To me, without being arrogant, the process justified the outcome.

“If you look at the personnel, I think that’s why it’s a nice reminder. It’s a collective.

It’s a team thing. I didn’t expect us to get five or six scrum penalties. We’ve got to try and reproduce that.”

There were 11 Springboks in the Stormers' matchday squad of 23, and Dobson said Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach shone on their return.

“Sacha and Damian, you can just see it,” he said.

"Their backfield rotation and understanding of where each other are, except for the one where they both went dribbling, is magic.

“We obviously had a hard time in Edinburgh, but we had a guy like Yaqeen Ahmed who was writing matric exams this time last year at 10, in for one of the world’s best playmakers.

"It’s going to make a difference. But they really did inject a lot.”

The home side started with intensity, and it was not long before they entered the 22.

A powerful maul earned advantage before they slung it wide to Seabelo Senatla, who scored in the corner.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed the touchline conversion but was on target shortly afterwards with a penalty, which came as the result of a strong scrum.

The visitors responded with a try from flank Manu Tshituka and a penalty from replacement Gianni Lombard to level matters at 8-8, but those were to be their last points of the first half.

Two maul tries from the hosts – the first from Dayimani and the second on the stroke of half-time from Andre-Hugo Venter – put them firmly in control at the break with a 22-8 advantage.

The Stormers had the bonus point wrapped up early in the second half as Leolin Zas picked up from the base to dive over after a strong run from Siya Kolisi into the 22.

Dayimani had his second try as a monster scrum walked over the tryline and the No 8 was on hand to dot down and make it a double.

Scorers:

Stormers 39: Seabelo Senatla, Hacjivah Dayimani (2), Andre-Hugo Venter, Leolin Zas, JJ Kotze. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Sharks 22: tries: Manu Tshituka, Matt Ramao, Phepsi Buthelezi. Conversions: Gianni Lombard (2). Penalty: Lombard.

Other URC score: Bulls 57 Lions 15. — Additional reporting Stormers Media

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