Staff Reporter.
Manie Libbok scored 13 points (one try and eight conversions) for the Stormers against Cardiff. Picture: Gallo Images.
The Stormers continued with their fine recent form in the United Rugby Championship as they sealed a convincing 40-3 victory over Cardiff in Cape Town on Sunday.
Ruhan Nel, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Junior Pokomela, Evan Roos and Rikus Pretorius crossed the whitewash for the homeside while the rest of their points came via conversions from Manie Libbok (4) and Tim Swiel.
The win saw the Stormers leapfrog the Vodacom Bulls into seventh position in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they continued the South African teams’ perfect run at home against overseas opposition.
The Sharks, Stormers and Bulls now lie in six, seventh and eighth on the URC table, respectively, while the 13th-placed Lions are also slowly starting to climb the log.
In uncomfortably warm conditions, the Stormers came with a plan to run the visitors off their feet. However, it was a stop-start affair with plenty of stoppages, as Cardiff slowed the game down whenever possible.
Still, the Stormers managed to score three tries in the first half, with Libbok, Zas, Damian Willemse and Warrick Gelant all playing crucial roles.
Zas set up Nel for the first try with a wonderful kick and gather over the defense. The winger was then the beneficiary as Seabelo Senatla battered Gelant’s kick backwards and he gathered to score.
The Stormers’ game drivers were at it again for the third try as Gelant kicked over the defensive line, before Herschel Jantjies gathered and passed on his inside to put Libbok over and give the Stormers a 19-3 lead at the break.
After hammering away at Cardiff for 20 minutes in the second half, the hosts eventually secured their bonus-point try when Willemse offloaded for Junior Pokomela to go over.
From there the floodgates opened as Evan Roos, busting through tackles like a juggernaut, and Rikus Pretorius scored runaway tries. Cardiff had a late attempt at scoring a consolation try in the final 10 minutes, but were denied after camping on the try line.
Meanwhile the Lions were delighted after securing their second successive home win in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship by stunning Munster in a come-from-behind 23-21 victory in Johannesburg.