Stormers v Glasgow: Five takeaways as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cape Town outfit ‘awake from their slumber’ against ‘shambolic’ Warriors
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Ntuthuko Mchunu in action for the Stormers.
Following a dominant 48-12 victory for the Stormers over Glasgow Warriors, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship encounter at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
The top line
The Stormers awoke from their slumber to move back to the top of the URC table, overtaking previous leaders Glasgow with an outstanding performance in Cape Town.
After a number of underwhelming performances, including a real low against Connacht, this was a return to form. Ntuthuko Mchunu led the way with a brace before an Evan Roos score gave the hosts a 24-12 lead the interval – Ollie Smith and Gregor Hiddleston responding for the Scotsmen.
The Warriors may have appeared in the contest at the break, but any hope was soon taken away from them thanks to a Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu masterclass, who set up one score before crossing the whitewash himself to secure the win.
Keke Morabe then crossed the whitewash to rubberstamp the triumph and send the ill-disciplined tourists, who had both Jack Dempsey and Adam Hastings sin-binned, home dejected.
Complete Stormers
From arguably their worst performance of the season – certainly at home – to possibly their best as John Dobson’s men dominated from start to finish. Whether it was focus brought on by facing the league leaders or simply the hosts executing properly, this was a statement display from a side who have rather lost their way in the second half of the season.
That is until Glasgow came to town at least. The Stormers won their opening eight URC matches of the season, installing them as early title favourites and making an unbeaten league campaign a distinct possibility, but they went on to lose four of their next seven games.
The most worrying of those was the Connacht loss, a lacklustre performance that raised questions of both the playing group and the coaching staff. Was it overconfidence, players not executing or the messages from the top causing confusion?
Whatever it was, they corrected it ahead of this game. From the front-row, who absolutely hammered the Glasgow scrum, to the clinical backline, it was bordering on a complete 80 minutes that will delight Dobson and worry their competitors.
Prop stars
It was a fast start from the Stormers, who looked revved up after last weekend’s shocker against Connacht, and the majority of that was down to the front-row, and particularly prop Mchunu. He was ably supported by tighthead Neethling Fouche, but it was the loosehead who set the tone in most departments.
The 27-year-old was bruising in the carry and effective in the scrum as the Cape Town outfit regularly sent the Warriors into reverse. His two tries will receive the headlines, though, albeit the first owed much to the brilliance of his propping partner Fouche, whose outstanding back-of-the-hand pass gave the loosehead a simple run to the line.
Mchunu had more work to do with the second as he took scruffy ball after a maul had collapsed, but he showed excellent skills and strength to pick it up, easily shrug off one tackle and touch down to give his side a 17-0 advantage. That double salvo in the opening 15 minutes set the tone for the Stormers and made Glasgow’s day even more difficult.
Rassie Erasmus will also take note. Mchunu is a fully-fledged Springbok but his chances have been limited, with his last Test coming back in 2024. The prop has refound his form, however, and providing that set-piece dominance continues, he offers something different thanks to his power and athleticism in the loose.
Glasgow’s confidence and form
Franco Smith has not fielded his best side over the past two weeks but two hammerings in South Africa will be a concern. The longer-term effects of their Investec Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Toulon will only be known when they return from South Africa, but they have been shambolic against both the Lions and Stormers.
They have now been overtaken by the Cape Town outfit on the table and could well be down to third when Leinster face Benetton later on. If they cannot regain a top-two spot – Cardiff and Ulster are hardly easy matches – that obviously impacts seedings when the play-offs come around.
Granted, the hosts were impressive and the Warriors were severely understrength in the pack, but there was still more enough quality to keep this match closer. Apart from brief moments of class from Tuipulotu and Kyle Steyn, they were outplayed in most departments.
You just hope that the Toulon defeat has not brought about this lull and come the final rounds, they return to the form which made them the best team in the URC. Irrespective of the absentees, Smith’s men have not produced what we have come to expect from Glasgow on this South Africa tour.
Sacha watch
The incredibly talented playmaker has been the talk of the town ever since he burst onto the scene but he has been going through a difficult period. You get the sense, given his level-headed nature, it is something which will benefit him long-term, but he has found himself under the microscope over recent week thanks to his downturn in form.
Helped by a dominant pack, this was so much better from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but there are still moments where you question his thought process on occasion. That was demonstrated in Smith’s try where his speculative grubber through was picked up by Sione Tuipulotu. The Scotland captain then broke through and it ended with the visiting wing crossing the whitewash.
It was entirely preventable from the fly-half’s perspective and suggests that he is searching for that balance in his game. However, that and a missed penalty was the only real faux pas from the playmaker, who was otherwise faultless in a fine display.