Stormers player ratings: ‘Serial’ Man of the Match shines as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu struggles before bench ‘saves’ the day

Following the Stormers’ 39-26 victory over Leicester Tigers, here’s how we rated John Dobson’s men in the Investec Champions Cup clash in Cape Town.

Stormers player ratings v Leicester Tigers

15 Wandisile Simelane: Some bright moments in attack, but overall it was an exceptionally tough day at the office as he was troubled under the high ball and conceded a plethora of turnovers. Looked nervous in the backfield on several occasions. 4

14 Dylan Maart: Barely touched the ball on attack. Was put under pressure with the Tigers’ aerial game and missed a few tackles. Like for many of his teammates, things just didn’t fall his way. Still, not a poor performance. 5

13 Suleiman Hartzenberg: Replaced early in the second half, as the Stormers were struggling to get real width on their attack. Leicester also found holes in the defence from set-piece strike plays. 5

12 Jonathan Roche: Made a stunning break from a rather rudimentary set move that the Tigers failed to defend, but smartly linked up with Paul de Villiers, which led to the opening try. He came up with a crucial turnover not too long after and was strong, carrying the ball to the line. A few lapses in defence, but produced more good than bad. 7

11 Leolin Zas: Starved of possession, but when he did go search for work, he was rewarded and ruthlessly pitched in with a try. Leicester got great purchase in the air with the Stormers’ back-three struggling somewhat. 5

10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (c): The good came with the bad as the Springboks superstar’s game summed up the Stormers’ performance. There were moments of sheer excellence from him, but also silly, soft errors and a 10-minute sin binning period. Dobson will be pleased with the win but his captain was off the pace today compared to his usual high standards. 5

9 Stefan Ungerer: The Stormers mostly kicked through Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but Ungerer was a good supporting attack. He provided good service for the most part and tested the fringes on occasion. 6

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The forwards

8 Evan Roos: Looked to be cantering away to score his second try when he was hammered by Joaquin Moro and the ball was dislodged. He will be disappointed by that, as it was a blight on an otherwise excellent outing by the powerful Bok back-rower. He was a regular source of go-forward ball for the Stormers and was quite disciplined. 8

7 Ben-Jason Dixon: Never shies away from a heavy workload, and today was not different. The Springboks’ back-rower made some hefty hits, stopping the Tigers in their tracks and managed to stay on the right side of the referee’s whistle. Somewhat quiet in possession, but was getting stuck into the rucks. 7

6 Paul de Villiers: Serial Man of the Match Award winner, and he was fully deserving of it again after another blockbuster performance that continues his bid for a Springboks call-up. He played a pivotal role in two tries, providing two assists. A handful for the Tigers in possession and strong on defence. 9

5 Ruben van Heerden: For much of the match, the lineouts were quite simply atrocious from the Stormers, and two locks, as well as hooker André-Hugo Venter, have to take that on the chin. Putting that aside, Van Heerden was effective with the ball in hand and one of the Stormers’ busiest defenders. 6

4 JD Schickerling: A lot of breakdown work throughout his shift, and added his weight on defence. Scored a stunning try that he will remember for a long, long time. 7

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3 Neethling Fouché: On the wrong end of some frankly puzzling officiating calls at scrum time. Still, part of his job is to adjust to the referee, and he wasn’t able to do that. He was fortunate his pass didn’t get picked off in the build-up to Zas’ try before he was called to the sidelines. A lot didn’t go his way in what was a rare below-par shift. 4

2 André-Hugo Venter: A mixed bag. Scored a try, was incredibly busy around the park, but had a torrid time in the set-pieces. The lineout woes weren’t entirely his fault, but he must shoulder some blame. 4

1 Ntuthuko Mchunu: Forced off in the 5th minute of the game to undergo an HIA, which he failed and subsequently didn’t return to the action. It would not be fair to give a rating of any kind. N/A

Replacements: The introductions of Zachary Porthen and Imad Khan were crucial in the game’s final outcome as the duo turned the tide. The former at scrum time, while the latter scored and assisted a try. It was a lacklustre performance from the starters all-in-all, and the Stormers needed their bench to step things up, and they did precisely that to blow Leicester away in the final knockings and seal the win. JJ Kotzé was far more accurate in the lineouts, Vernon Matongo was solid throughout his performance as he dug deep playing 75-odd minutes. Connor Evans and Marcel Theunissen got through a boatload of work. The bench saved the Stormers’ blushes today. 9

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