Dillyn Leyds during the Super Rugby match between DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls at DHL Newlands on April 27, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)
The sterling form of flying Stormers wing Dillyn Leyds in this year’s Super Rugby competition will not be easily overlooked when discussions for World Cup berths start heating up over the next few months.
The 26-year-old player was again in fine form in his 60th Super Rugby game last week, when he was named Man-of-the-Match in his team’s 24-23 victory over the Bulls.
He was especially lethal on the blindside and played a decisive role in the third Stormers try, scored by scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies.
Leyds fielded and counter-attacked after a poor exit kick by the Bulls’ Manie Libbok and he exploited the situation immediately by realising most of the Bulls players couldn’t tackle him as they were in off-side positions.
Leyds, again expected to be a key player for the Stormers away against the Jaguares this weekend, admitted there had been a real urgency in the side after their 19-17 defeat to the Brumbies in Cape Town the previous week.
“I think we were really disappointed with ourselves the way we performed at Newlands against the Brumbies,” he said.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one against the Bulls, but wanted to rectify a few things and we were just happy to come away with the win at the end.”
Leyds, who earned nine Bok caps in 2017 and first turned out for the Stormers against the Bulls at Loftus in 2015, said: “We wanted to go out there and just express ourselves after the disappointing defeat and we still had a bit of confidence in ourselves.
“We wanted to go out and play the kind of rugby we know we are capable of, and obviously the weather helped a bit.
“It was a lovely, sunny afternoon. It allowed us to throw the ball around a bit, and more importantly showed what we are capable of.”
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