Stormers show tenacity to down the Sharks again in Cape Town

The Stormers earned a bonus point 24–20 win against the Sharks to overtake them on the South African shield of the United Rugby Championship (URC) before a sold-out Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (half-time score 10–5 to the Sharks).

The home spectators were treated to a thrilling match with the lead switching between the coastal sides all evening while handling errors and disallowed tries frustrated players on both sides of the field.

The win also took the Stormers up to eighth place on the overall URC log. The Sharks are still fifth.

Heading into the game, the Sharks had lost five of their previous six matches against the Stormers and had not won in Cape Town since 1 May 2021.

The Stormers maintained their excellent record at home, dominating the game with 56% possession and 382 metres made compared to the Sharks’ 217 metres.

They also had revenge on their mind after going down 21–15 to the Sharks in their seventh-round URC match at Kings Park Stadium in Durban on 30 November.

Stormers indomitable against Sharks

Man of the match, Stormers scrumhalf Paul de Wet said they knew it would be a tough game, and the handling errors played a role in the scrappy win.

“We talked about the loose balls and the second tip passes. It is something we train a lot in and put a lot of focus on but sometimes you just have to adapt the plan and make better decisions on the field,” he said.

Stormers captain Deon Fourie said they would take the win despite how close it was.

“We were our own worst enemies at times, just letting loose balls go and individual errors cost us momentum and field position. That is definitely something to look at [going forward].”

Stormers spectators cheered on fullback Warrick Gelant especially as he made his 50th cap for the side on the day.

However, the game was again marred by an injury to rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. After going off in the first half due to a concussion against the Lions last week, he went off before the break again this week, this time due to a dislocated shoulder.

All this is on the back of a serious knee injury he has been working off.

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Sharks keep the Stormers on their toes

Jordan Hendrikse opened the scoring for the Sharks with a penalty kick in the sixth minute.

Seabelo Senatla, replacing the injured Leolin Zas, responded by dotting down a try for the Stormers on the sideline after Gelant kicked a scrumptious ball over the forwards. Manie Libbok missed the conversion.

He also missed the next opportunity for points from a long-range penalty kick in the 15th minute.

The Sharks appeared to retake the lead after a Jaden Hendrikse try in the 25th minute. But there had been a forward pass in the build-up. The try was disallowed.

The Sharks missed another opportunity to score points when Jordan Hendrikse dragged a penalty kick wide in the 29th minute.

Four minutes later, the Sharks played quickly from a scrum, passing down the line for wing Yaw Penxe to dot down a try in the 33rd minute. This time, Jordan Hendrikse converted to make the score 10–5 to the Sharks.

The Stormers drove a maul over the line at the half-time mark but the potential try scorer went into touch before grounding the ball. However, Ethan Hooker earned a yellow card for coming into the maul from the side to prevent the try.

A Stormers lineout followed three minutes after the half-time whistle but they lost it forward to go into the break down by five points.

Another disallowed try

The Stormers appeared to retake the lead after a Paul de Wet try and Libbok conversion early in the second half. However, referees later found there had been foul play in the lead-up to the try and they disallowed it.

However, the Stormers were tenacious in their attack and a driving maul from a lineout saw captain Deon Fourie score a try in the 53rd minute. Libbok missed the conversion to leave it 10–10.

Libbok danced between players to score a try close to the posts for the Stormers in the 67th minute. He converted to make it 17–10.

The Sharks responded almost immediately with Jaden Hendrikse darting through a gap to score a try in the 72nd minute. His brother Jordan converted to level the scores with eight minutes to play.

A 75th-minute penalty saw Jordan Hendrikse slot the ball between the posts and put his side ahead.

The Stormers did not give up, and Jean-Luc Duplessis scored a try after a big push in the 78th minute. Libbok converted to make it 24–20 with half a minute to play. Their fourth try earned them a bonus point.

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