No Irish luck with Stormers’ defeat

It would be a bitter, churlish Stormers rugby fanatic who would be muttering “We wuz robbed!” after Saturday’s scintillating United Rugby Championship (URC) final when the Cape side went down 19-14 to Irish team Munster.

Sure, you could complain, perhaps, that the pitch disintegrated to the extent that it may have hampered the home side… but let’s not forget there were two teams on that same turf in the Cape Town Stadium.

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After a first half in which they were dominated by the Irish in most aspects, the Stormers turned in a second half which proved that a strong bounce-back is the mark of a top team.

Final whistle

In the end, though, the Irishmen were just that little bit better…but most of them – and their fans – would have heaved an enormous sigh of relief at the final whistle.

The match proved that world rugby is now nicely balanced between North and South and that each hemisphere has its strengths and weaknesses.

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But it was also a fascinating – albeit a bit worrying, for Springbok fans – conformation of the sheer brilliance of Ireland, the team we’re going to have to beat if we want to get our hands on the Web Ellis Cup once more.