Stormers player ratings: Veteran Springboks star ‘the shining light’ in All Blacks defeat
Hacjivah Dayimani and Deon Fourie were two of the Stormers' better players against the All Blacks while Leolin Zas had a game to forget.
After their 38-21 defeat in their Greatest Rivalry clash against the All Blacks at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, here’s how the Stormers players performed on Friday.
Stormers player ratings v All Blacks
15 Warrick Gelant: The former Springboks full-back started solidly at the back for the Stormers but made some crucial errors as the match progressed. One of those was missing a routine tackle on Leroy Carter in the build-up to the winger’s try. 6
14 Seabelo Senatla: Was targeted by New Zealand on defence during the opening half but he stood up well in the tackle throughout. Was more involved on attack after the interval and his efforts were rewarded with a fine try. 6
13 Ruan Nel (c): As usual, the Stormers skipper was at the forefront of their defensive effort as he organised them well in that department but made little impact on attack and was replaced at half-time by Wandisile Simelane. 5
12 Jonathan Roche: Not much to report here as he did not offer much on attack and was restricted mostly to defensive duties where he finished with eight tackles made. 5
11 Leolin Zas: Did not see as much of the ball as he would have liked, but was always looking for work and gained 32 metres on attack. Battled in defence, though, as he only made five hits and missed 3. 4
10 Yaqeen Ahmed: There was plenty of pressure on the young playmaker as he was making his Stormers debut. Despite that, he was remarkably calm and delivered a fine performance. Asked some questions of the All Blacks defence and impressed with his distribution skills while also varying his play well on attack. He would have learned a lot from this experience. 7
9 Imad Khan: Forced off the field due to a leg injury inside the first five minutes with the veteran Dewaldt Duvenage coming on to replace him. N/A
The forwards
8 Evan Roos: As expected, the Springboks discard was one of the Stormers’ go-to-men as a ball carrier, and he looked solid on attack in the opening period. Made a crucial error soon after the restart when his overenthusiasm saw him knocking on the ball close to the All Blacks’ try-line. Put that setback behind him and continued to carry with great intent and also made 14 hits. 6
7 Hacjivah Dayimani: He was a valuable source of lineout possession early on but became quiet when the match was tightly contested by the forwards. Became more visible later on when the game was much looser and was visible in the wide channels with some good runs and finished with a team-high 57 metres gained. Also made 14 tackles. 7
6 Deon Fourie: The veteran tearaway was in the thick of the action from the outset and was prominent either side of the ball during a lively 62-minute stint on the field. Fourie was the hosts’ shining light as he scored a well-taken try and set up one for Seabelo Senatla while also putting his body on the line with 13 tackles made and won two turnovers. 9
5 Connor Evans: Did what was expected of him in the lineouts, where he won his fair share of balls, and also put his body on the line in defence. He eventually finished with a team-high 16 hits. 6
4 Adré Smith: The hard man of the Stormers pack got through plenty of work at the coalface of their forward effort. Did his bit in the lineouts, impressed on defence and also carried well. 6
3 Neethling Fouche: The experienced front-rower put in a solid scrummaging display and also caught the eye with some big defensive hits at close quarters. Finished with 14 tackles made. 7
2 André-Hugo Venter: The Springboks hooker was solid in the execution of his core duties, although he was blown up for a crooked throw-in and also failed to find his jumper at a lineout late in the first half. Improved after the interval as he caught the eye with a fine 40-metre run down the right-hand touchline shortly before being replaced by JJ Kotzé in the 65th minute. 7
1 Vernon Matongo: The 24-year-old won an early penalty at scrum-time but was then penalised twice at the set-piece during the latter stages of the half. Replaced early in the second half by Ntuthuko Mchunu. 5
Replacements: Overall, the Stormers’ bench players did not bring the necessary energy which was required, especially in the second half when the match became much looser. Amongst the forwards, Mchunu impressed when he replaced Matongo while Duvenhage was solid as Khan’s replacement, but the Stormers lost some attacking momentum when the younger scrum-half limped off early on. 5
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