Benetton v Stormers: Five takeaways as South Africans ‘don’t miss’ Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu with John Dobson’s side ‘stepping up’ in the second half
Stormers fly-halves Jurie Matthee and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Following a 31-16 victory for the Stormers over Benetton, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash at Stadio Monigo on Saturday.
The top line
The unbeaten Stormers were given a fright in the first half of this URC clash, but they responded nicely to go back to the top of the table.
Benetton were excellent in the first half and deservedly went 16-8 in front through Louis Lynagh’s try and three penalties from the boot of Jacob Umaga, but they could not maintain that dominance.
The Stormers had led through Sazi Sandi’s score and Jurie Matthee’s three-pointer, but it took until the second period for them to assert their authority on proceedings.
Matthee was central to that, touching down once and adding three more penalties off the tee while he was followed across the whitewash by Adre Smith as the Stormers made it five successive victories.
Better from Benetton
After being nilled by Edinburgh last weekend, the Italian outfit, who are a much better side than that, produced an excellent display, particularly in the first half. They were boosted by the return of some of their stars, including Tommaso Menoncello, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone and Sebastian Negri, and it showed in their performance.
Against a Stormers outfit who, like all South African sides, are packed with power up front, they competed well at the breakdown, with the likes of Lamaro and Negri putting the pressure on at the contact area.
When the hosts have that platform, they have some real threats out wide and they enjoyed themselves at times, manufacturing a lovely try for Lynagh as they moved eight points ahead at the interval.
It was that gifted centre pairing of Leonardo Marin and Menoncello who were at the heart of it as the former combined with the latter, with two back-of-the-hand off-loads sending the wing scampering over the line.
However, it did not last…
Stormers’ response
The visitors were very much second best in the opening period before they regained their composure and hit back after the interval. Benetton controlled the physical collisions, with their scrum working nicely, and the aerial battle, but after a reset at half-time, the Stormers managed to get on the front foot.
Matthee was a big part of that. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu brings world-class quality but, in truth, they did not really miss the Springboks star. It was certainly an underwhelming first half from the playmaker, but he controlled the game beautifully in the final 40 minutes.
The Stormers weren’t particularly at their creative best, with Damian Willemse not finding his best form, but they didn’t need to be. There was a turnaround in their scrum fortunes when Boks newbie Zachary Porthen came on and that carried on into other facets of the game.
All of a sudden, Matthee had the time to dictate proceedings and his kicking, both out of hand and off the tee, proved decisive as they stepped it up to score 23 unanswered points to keep themselves unbeaten in the URC.
Italy watch
It is a shame that the Italians will not get to see Menoncello in Benetton colours next season if reports are to be believed after signing for Toulouse, but they can at least can still enjoy him while they can and his assist for Lynagh’s try was delightful.
He will now play a key part in Italy’s end-of-year series in what will be a healthy contingent of Benetton players in the team. In truth, the Test stars all produced a fine showing in the first half but, as is often the case for the national side, maintaining it was the issue.
You rather worry for them when they take on the Springboks on November 15 and maintain that physical intensity, but, in Lamaro, Negri and the Cannone brothers, the Treviso-based outfit have some mightily impressive forwards who will look to take that form into Italy camp.
Springboks watch
There was, of course, no Feinberg-Mngomezulu but Ben-Jason Dixon, who has returned to the South Africa squad, was given another run-out, while the uncapped Porthen was among the replacements. The youngster once again showed his talent to provide an impact in the loose and set-piece while Dixon was solid on the flank.
The Stormers also contained two players on the Boks standby list who desperately wanted to impress in Salmaan Moerat and Evan Roos, but neither really bolstered their chances with both being hooked pretty early.
Meanwhile, behind the scrum, Cobus Reinach made his debut for the team and showed all his experience and class to control matters from the base, and that helped Willemse in the second period. The centre was quiet by his high standards in the opening 40 minutes but, like his team-mates, there was an improvement after the break.