By Gavin Rich.
The DHL Stormers were understrength but the Vodacom United Rugby Championship champions showed just how much depth they have in reserve and how much they have going for them as a dominant second half set up a convincing 31-22 win over the Emirates Lions in Johannesburg.
The Stormers were hit hard by the Lions at the kick-off and the Cape team appeared to struggle with the switch in intensity from playing overseas opposition to playing South African opposition in a derby. This was the first derby of the season for the Stormers, and the Lions looked set to capitalise on that and the Stormers’ possible lethargy after the long flight home as they took a 22-10 lead at halftime.
But the Stormers defied the odds against a highveld team coming back from a halftime deficit to win at altitude by completely dominating the second half as they reversed the territorial ascendancy the Lions enjoyed in the first half to add three more tries to the one they scored in the first period to notch a bonus point and thus a full house of five log points.
XABA WAS THE GAME CHANGER
The manner of the Stormers’ win, with the side showing good composure and game management as they first whittled down the Lions’ lead and then controlled the contest at the end, suggested they had learned from the mistakes made overseas, with coach John Dobson admitting that his men had arrived home from tour a couple of points light from what they should have managed.
There were several standouts for the Stormers in the second half, with newly selected Springbok tour flyhalf Manie Libbok getting the official man of the match award for the way he and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu won the all-important territory battle with their kicking game in the second half.
But while it would have appeared a left field selection to be man of the match considering he was only on the field for the last 20 minutes of the match, the real game turner was the arrival of the Stormers’ reserve flanker Nama Xaba on the field. Xaba was outstanding in Cardiff last week but was rested from the starting team in the hope he’d make a difference coming on late when the Stormers would either be chasing or defending a lead.
And what a difference he did make, with Xaba making a mess of the Lions’ ball and forcing turnover penalties, one of them particularly crucial as he stymied a Lions’ siege of the Stormers line during the one patch in the second half where the Lions actually exerted pressure. Indeed, some Lions fans might have felt the TMO should have been called in to adjudicate when the Lions appeared to have pushed their way over the line.
However, the referee was in the perfect position and he ruled against the Lions claims. When Xaba then won the penalty and the Stormers relieved with the kick, it was a double whammy.
SACHA’S TRY STARTED THE FIGHTBACK
The Stormers also had a try disallowed, that coming in the 54th minute when Junior Pokomela was driven over the line and the try was awarded only for it to be reversed when on a second viewing reserve prop Ali Vermaak was spotted obstructing the Lions defenders from getting to the jumper.
The Stormers were still trailing by 12 at that point, the halftime score, and another team might have been frustrated by that call. Not the Stormers though, they retained their focus and Libbok set up a try for Feinberg-Mngomezulu with a little chip over the advancing Lions defence. The converted try energised the Stormers fightback and they were nearly over again just shortly afterwards when a long pass bounced awkwardly for unmarked hooker JJ Kotze just metres out from the line.
But the Stormers did have the momentum by then and it was after an impressive and long and patient buildup that fullback Clayton Blommetjies ran a great line from close range to score under the posts. Libbok’s conversion put the Stormers into a lead with 10 minutes to go that they were to never relinquish, with Xaba dotting down a driving maul try with four minutes left that made the result and the five points certain for the Stormers.
LINEOUT WOES AND DISCIPLINE HURDLES IN FIRST HALF
The Stormers wouldn’t have been behind at halftime were it not for their poor discipline and apparent inability to find any consistency on their own ball at the lineouts. To be fair, the Lions also struggled to hold onto their own ball at lineout time, but Joseph Dweba’s throwing has been a problem ever since he arrived in the Cape, and of course we’ve seen it at the Boks too. Not that Kotze was without blemish in the second half either.
The Lions started strongly, with a strong break from Henco van Wyk making an early statement, and they dominated the early minutes, with Hendrikse raising the flags with his first kick after just two minutes to make it 3-0, and the score was doubled just four minutes later.
The Stormers were scrambling at that point, and it was only good work from Angelo Davids running back to fall on a ball that had been kicked through the Stormers defenders near the left corner flag that prevented the Lions scoring a try just ahead of their second penalty.
Davids was the attacking hero a few minutes later, with a great quick tap from scrumhalf Paul de Wet off the first Stormers penalty, awarded near the posts in the 10th minute, seeing the ball spun down the line to the right and Davids, renowned for his pace, this time used his strength to drive through three defenders to dot down.
FAILED TO CAPITALISE ON HENDRIKSE’S CARD
The Stormers started to come into their own after that and this is when they could have picked up some scoring momentum had it not been for their horrible discipline, with eight penalties being awarded against them in the first half. Hendrikse capitalised on one by pushing his team back into a 9-7 lead in the 16th minute and then may have been a trifle lucky to escape a potential red card for a swinging arm tackle that made contact with the head in the Lions’ red zone.
However, the referee was probably correct in ruling that there was contact with the shoulder before the head, and anyway it is questionable whether that kind of incident should warrant a player being sent off for the rest of the game. Instead Hendrikse saw yellow, and with the Stormers already appearing to have attacking momentum, the Lions might have thought there was trouble coming.
Instead, their game management was superb over the next 10 minutes, with the Stormers instead fluffing their lines. Libbok did kick the penalty that elicited the card but it was the Lions who ended up shading the Stormers on the scoreboard 6-3 during the period that Hendrikse was off with scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba continuing Hendrikse’s perfect record from the tee with two successful penalties.
TSHITUKA GOOD FOR THE LIONS
Apart from the penalties and the lineout problems, the Stormers were also guilty of making too many errors. They knocked on balls on attack, threw forward passes and looked a bit disorganised both in receiving kicks and with the kick and chase aspect of the game at times. And it was that kind of confusion that the Lions capitalised on four minutes before halftime as a bit of too and fro between the two teams saw the Lions break through a few tackles, the irrepressible Emmanuel Tshituka prominent in that regard, and Venter went over in the left corner. The conversion made it a 12-point game at halftime and suddenly there was daylight between the teams.
But that daylight meant nothing after halftime as the Stormers eradicated their error-rate and the Lions started to fade in the face of the pressure applied by their opponents.
SCORES
DHL Stormers 31 – Tries: Angelo Davids, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Clayton Blommetjies and Nama Xaba. Conversions: Manie Libbok 4; Penalty: Manie Libbok.
Emirates Lions 22 – Try: Henco van Wyk, Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse; Penalties: Jordan Hendrikse 3 and Sanele Nohamba 2.