Stormers player ratings: ‘Terrible two minutes’ cost South Africans but ‘industrious’ Springbok hopeful ‘leaves a mark’
Our Stormers player ratings from their defeat to Leinster
Following the Stormers’ 20-11 defeat to Leinster in the URC semi-finals, here is how we scored John Dobson’s men.
Stormers player ratings v Leinster
15 Damian Willemse: Managed to inject himself into the game well despite this being a much more forward-oriented affair, and he added a touch of class in the process. Always seemed to get over the gainline ball-in-hand, which gave the Stormers decent possession to play with. 7
14 Wandisile Simelane: Not his day, unfortunately. Kept very quiet in attack and Leinster looked to target his wing on several occasions, resulting in four missed tackles. 4
13 Ruhan Nel (c): Did the basics well, but couldn’t quite kick on as much as he threatened too. Did end with a healthy stats sheet, though, winning a turnover alongside seven tackles and making 19 metres from five carries. The fact he ended as his side’s sixth-highest metre-maker tells a story on it’s own, however. 6
12 Dan du Plessis: Like his centre partner, did the nuts and bolts but didn’t set the pitch alight. Arguably got the better of his opposite man, though, and notched a solid 13 tackles along the way. 6
11 Leolin Zas: Could almost copy and paste his fellow winger’s section in here, really. Left found wanting in defence with four missed tackles, limited to just the one carry in attack and got a yellow card along the way. 4
10 Jurie Matthee: Given a rare start in the absence of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and didn’t really do anything wrong. He kicked really well out of hand and off the tee, and got his side playing in the right areas too. 6
9 Imad Khan: Once again supremely dangerous around the fringes of the ruck, notching 50 metres from just two carries, and bossed the pack around well. 7
Back-row
8 Evan Roos: Industrious effort from the Springbok hopeful, who went toe-to-toe with Caelan Doris in an enthralling tussle. Got heavily involved in his side’s work in the tight, ending with an eye-watering 24 tackles, two turnovers and 10 carries for 23 metres. That really helped get the Stormers a foothold in the contest. 8
7 Ben-Jason Dixon: Nothing flashy, but worked hard in the tight and brought heaps of physicality to proceedings. 7
6 Paul de Villiers: Again, very similar performance to his flank partner. Ran his blood to water in the tight. 7
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Tight five
5 Connor Evans: Won’t grab the headlines, but his efforts really helped lay the platform for his side’s spirited fightback into the game. His 15 tackles reflect a gritty, gutsy effort. 6
4 Adré Smith: Looked to take the fight to Leinster in the tight exchanges, which again helped fuel their fightback. Another member of the pack to end with a healthy stats sheet, notching 18 tackles for his troubles. 7
3 Neethling Fouché: Went pretty good all told. Scrummaged well and got about in the loose to decent effect. 6
2 André-Hugo Venter: The lineout was hit-and-miss, but that was largely down to the way Leinster competed rather than anything else, but he didn’t let that deter him in the loose with some big efforts in defence. 6
1 Ntuthuko Mchunu: Like his prop partner, had the better of his scrum battle and backed that up with some decent work around the park as well. 6
Replacements: Were going okay for the most part in the second-half, but a terrible two minutes from members of the replacements list cost them dearly. The initial yellow card to Ruan Ackermann, which was later upgraded to a red, brought their growing momentum to a grinding halt, and then Salmaan Moerat compounded that with his own needless act. 4
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