Damian Willemse leads the way as Stormers cruise past Edinburgh while Scarlets seal last-gasp win over Benetton

Damian Willemse produced an outstanding performance as the Stormers returned to winning ways in the United Rugby Championship courtesy of an emphatic 43-21 victory over Edinburgh in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Springbok full-back walked off with the official player-of-the-match award after the game as he delivered a superb all-round display as the Stormers outscored their Scottish visitors by seven tries to three.

Although he did not cross the whitewash, Willemse led the way for the home side with some try assists as Suleiman Hartzenberg scored three tries, while fellow speedster Leolin Zas and number eight Evan Roos each touched down twice with Manie Libbok kicking three conversions and Jurie Matthee one as the Stormers secured a bonus point before half-time.

For Edinburgh, wing Jake Henry, number eight Bill Mata and replacement hooker Paddy Harrison scored tries which were all converted by Ben Healy.

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The Stormers made a flying start and went ahead after 10 minutes when they attacked from deep, showcasing some brilliant handling, before Libbok’s kick into space was gathered by Hartzenberg and he crossed unopposed.

Libbok added the conversion but Edinburgh were unfazed and they hit back through Henry, who gathered a loose ball 20 metres out and sprinted clear for a try which Healy converted.

Both teams had made their attacking intentions clear and the Stormers struck again when scrum-half Paul de Wet fired out a long pass to full-back Damien Willemse, who perfectly timed a scoring delivery to Hartzenberg.

Libbok’s touchline conversion went over via the post and crossbar and he turned creator again just before half-time when another clever tactical kick caused chaos in Edinburgh’s defence.

The visitors could not deal with it, fumbling possession, and Zas enjoyed a simple run-in as Stormers extended their lead to 12 points just before the break.

There was still time for Edinburgh to put themselves back in contention, with Mata charging over from the back of a lineout.

Healy’s conversion made it 19-14 but more scintillating handling by the Stormers created a bonus-point try for Zas that Matthee converted as he took over kicking duties while Libbok received treatment for a head wound.

Edinburgh’s woes continued early in the second period as Hartzenberg finished off another fine handling move to complete his hat-trick, then Roos went over and it was damage limitation for the visitors.

Harrison’s score briefly gave them hope of a possible losing bonus point but that was extinguished by Roos completing his try double.

Bringing up the first half bonus point in style 🫡#BKTURC #URC | #STOvEDI pic.twitter.com/ek0hcQLjWE

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) March 23, 2024

Scarlets late show stuns Benetton

Replacement hooker Eduan Swart was Scarlets‘ hero as he crossed for a last-gasp try which secured the Welsh region a narrow 16-13 victory over Benetton at Parc y Scarlets.

The result rejuvenate Scarlets’ season as it is only their third victory of their United Rugby Championship campaign.

The home side thought they had blown their chances of securing a win when Steff Evans was been held up over the line shortly before that but Swart sealed the win after crashing over from a driving maul.

Sam Costelow converted to add to his three penalties.

Onisi Ratave scored Benetton’s try, with Jacob Umaga succeeding with two penalties and a conversion.

Costelow and Umaga exchanged early penalties and the Italians should have gone ahead with another kickable penalty but they chose an attacking line-out and it proved to be the wrong call.

However Benetton were not to be denied for long as they sped the ball wide for the powerful Ratave to brush off a weak tackle from Ioan Lloyd to cross, with Umaga converting from the touchline before adding a penalty.

The visitors soon threatened again when former Bristol player Andy Uren broke from a scrum and it took an excellent tackle from Tom Rogers to deprive Ratave of a second try.

In the tricky wind, a 22-metre penalty attempt from Costelow rebounded back off a post but that was the precursor for Scarlets to build up their first sustained period of pressure.

Aided by a malfunctioning Italian line-out, the home side camped in the opposition 22 but handling errors at critical times prevented them from capitalising and they trailed 13-3 at the interval.

Umaga booted the restart straight into touch and a penalty at the resulting scrum gave Scarlets an early platform in the second half.

However, the hosts continued to infringe at the breakdown so frequent penalties awarded against them prevented any momentum.

Scarlets replaced their skipper Gareth Davies with Kieran Hardy and it paid dividends when the replacement was high tackled for Costelow to kick a penalty, the first of two in quick succession.

The home side suffered a blow when number eight Vaea Fifita was helped off with a leg injury but they continued to dominate in terms of territory and possession.

Lock Alex Craig and centre Johnny Williams were at the forefront of their efforts and they were rewarded when Swart finished off a driving maul with the last play of the game.

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