Stormers player ratings: ‘Masterful’ Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu stars while props enjoy ‘field day’ against Sharks
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu impressed for the Stormers against the Sharks.
Following a 39-22 win for the Stormers over the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town, here’s our player ratings for John Dobson’s men.
The backs
15 Damian Willemse: Returned to club duty with an assured performance at the back, injecting pace into attacks in typical Willemse style. The Springboks star set up Seabelo Senatla for the game’s first try on six minutes and finished with a game high 13 carries that resulted in 76 metres. 8
14 Seabelo Senatla: Dropped an early ball but more than made amends thereafter. His simple score, after taking Willemse’s pass, saw him dive over on the right wing and he was unlucky a second try was chalked off as he put a foot in touch in-goal when attempting to ground the ball acrobatically. 8
13 Ruhan Nel (c): The captain was a handful as always. A theme of his game on Saturday was running excellent support lines, particularly off the deadly Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. That helped him rack up 70 metres at the DHL Stadium. 7
12 Jonathan Roche: Is developing into a wonderful second playmaking option for the Stormers. His pull-back pass in the lead up to Senatla’s try was a catalyst for the score and he continued to impress with ball in hand alongside his number 10. 7
11 Leolin Zas: A special day for the wing as he walked out ahead of his team-mates on what was his 101st game for the Stormers, after hitting 100 against Edinburgh last week. He celebrated in style as after seeing plenty of ball early on, Zas was rewarded with an opportunistic try in the second half from close range. 8
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: He was brimming with confidence early on, with his timing and kicking out of hand top drawer. Defensively he was solid too, throwing in a big hit on Jurenzo Julius to help foil a potential breakout. While his form off the tee wasn’t where he would like it, everything else was masterful. 9
9 Cobus Reinach: Enabled others instead of taking personal risks and with a pack so dominant Reinach was right to do so. Solid from the Springboks veteran. 6
The forwards
8 Hacjivah Dayimani: His bright start to the season got even better with this two-try showing. His first came via a driving maul and his second off the back of a dominant scrum. Unlucky that a Willemse knock-on denied him a deserved hat-trick. 9
7 Siya Kolisi: The Springboks skipper was wearing the seven jersey in Cape Town as he combined with fellow openside Paul de Villiers. Kolisi made a good carry before the Zas try in what was a steady outing before being replaced by Deon Fourie on 56 minutes. 6
Sharks player ratings: ‘Game to forget’ for Springbok as ‘wheels come off’ scrum against Stormers
6 Paul de Villiers: Three turnovers won for the cause in typical De Villiers fashion and he backed that up with another game high, making 12 tackles for his team. 7
5 JD Schickerling: A solid option at the lineout for the Stormers while he got stuck in on defence too, making seven tackles. 7
4 Adré Smith: Racked up 10 tackles on the day and alongside Schickerling played his part in a dominant Stormers scrum. 7
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3 Wilco Louw: What a day for the Stormers pack and Louw was front and centre of their field day at the scrum. Helped the team win penalty after penalty in the set-piece, with their walk over for Dayimani’s second try a highlight for the front-row. 8
2 André-Hugo Venter: As well as being solid in the scrum, Venter won an impressive breakdown penalty on 25 minutes just outside his team’s 22 to relieve the pressure. The hooker picked up a try too in the first half at the back of a dominant maul. 8
1 Ntuthuko Mchunu: Not many get the better of Thomas du Toit in that fashion. Mchunu had his opponent coughing up several penalties throughout the game as the Stormers turned the screw up front. 8
Replacements: JJ Kotze got his name on the scoreboard but otherwise there was little to write home about for the bench, with the Sharks actually winning the final half-hour 14-5. 5
READ MORE: Stormers v Sharks: Result, scorers, match stats, line-ups
