Stormers player ratings: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ‘can’t stamp his authority’ on proceedings while ‘young tyro’ and new skipper shine in loss
Stormers playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and lock JD Schickerling (inset).
After their 24-10 defeat in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Lions at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, here’s how the Stormers players performed.
Stormers player ratings v Lions
15 Warrick Gelant: Another underwhelming performance from the former Springboks full-back, who struggled to get going on attack and also made several unforced errors at the back. 5
14 Dylan Maart: The Bulls-bound flyer made some good attacking runs from the back in the first half and was solid on defence but made a critical error when he tried to launch a counter-attack from the back in the second half. He was soon caught in possession before conceding a penalty and was eventually replaced by Jurie Matthee in the 64th minute. 5
13 Wandisile Simelane: Although he was a willing ball carrier, and set off on several attacking runs, those were mostly down blind alleys as the hosts had little trouble in keeping him at bay. 5
12 Jonathan Roche: The young tyro caught the eye with some fine runs which kept the Lions’ defenders busy and finished with a team-high 65 metres gained. Those included two defenders beaten and he also showed some deft touches on attack as he created some attacking opportunities for his team-mates. 8
11 Leolin Zas: Lost out to Angelo Davids in an aerial challenge which proved costly as it led to Siba Mahashe crossing for the opening try in the first half. It was a similar story shortly afterwards when he failed to gather a ball inside his 22 and Francke Horn also dotted down. Tried to take on the Lions’ defence with ball in hand but made little impact. 4
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: This was a match which the Springboks star will not be happy with as he struggled to create try-scoring opportunities for his team-mates due to several unforced errors and he was guilty of trying to force play at times. Feinberg-Mngomezulu eventually made 12 runs and finished with a match-high 70 metres gained but could not stamp his authority on this clash. 5
9 Stefan Ungerer: Battled to get going as he was caught in possession by his opponents on a couple of occasions and his decision-making and option taking was average. Replaced by Imad Khan after 52 minutes. 4
The forwards
8 Evan Roos: As usual, the Springboks loose forward was one of the Stormers‘ main ball carriers but despite gaining 44 metres and making a match-high 13 carries, he was kept in check by the home side’s defence. 6
7 Ben-Jason Dixon: Not a match which the Springbok will remember fondly as he had little influence on proceedings either side of the ball and it was not surprising when he was replaced by Hacjivah Dayimani early in the second half. 4
6 Paul de Villiers: The young tearaway came into this match after delivering several excellent performances for the visitors, but he was not as influential as he usually is. Made little impact at the breakdown battle, with ball in hand and on defence. 5
5 JD Schickerling (c): Promoted to the Stormers captaincy for this match and seemed to thrive with the extra responsibility as he took the fight to the Lions with a solid all-round performance. Impressed with his lineout and defensive work, while he did well as a ball carrier and was rewarded with the Stormers’ only try. 8
4 Adré Smith: The 28-year-old did what was expected of him in the lineouts but was less visible in other areas and was eventually replaced by Connor Evans after 47 minutes. 5
3 Sazi Sandi: Was blown up for illegal scrummaging early on, but got better in that department as the match progressed. Did what was expected of him in other facets of play before being replaced by Zachary Porthen after 47 minutes. 6
2 JJ Kotzé: He made his 50th appearance for the Cape Town-based outfit and although he was replaced by André-Hugo Venter in the 47th minute, he was solid in the execution if his core duties. 6
1 Ntuthuko Mchunu: The Springboks front-row delivered an impressive scrummaging display as he dominated his direct battle at the set-piece against RF Schoeman. Mchunu also impressed with the ball in hand as he gained 18 metres before being replaced by Vernon Matongo early in the second half. 7
Replacements: Stormers boss John Dobson made several changes to his starting pack early in the second half with the likes of Venter, Matongo, Porthen and Dayimani bringing some urgency to proceedings, while Khan also looked lively when he took to the field. However, the visitors’ bench became less influential as the match progressed and ultimately, they could not change the flow of this match. 5
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