United Rugby Championship: Five takeaways from the Sharks v Stormers including champions still South Africa’s best side

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Following an impressive 46-19 bonus-point victory for the Stormers over the Sharks in their South African United Rugby Championship (URC) derby, here’s our five takeaways from the encounter in Durban.

Rude awakening for the Sharks

Although the home side were without Springboks like Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Jaden Hendrikse and Thomas du Toit, who were all being rested, they fancied their chances against the Stormers who were also without Test stars like Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Damian Willemse and Evan Roos.

The Sharks came into this match with their tails up after notching an impressive away victory over Edinburgh in their previous encounter and in the build-up to this fixture their director of rugby Neil Powell said he believed they have enough depth in their ranks to cope with the loss of their internationals and beat the Stormers.

However, the visitors showed that they have the better depth as they totally outplayed the Sharks, who looked a pale shadow of the team that got the better of Edinburgh.

Stormers’ forward power too much for the Sharks

The men from the Cape’s forwards laid the platform to their victory as they dominated most of the exchanges up front and the Sharks seemed shell-shocked by the intensity and accuracy in execution of their opponents.

One facet of play in which the Stormers were particularly impressive was the scrums where the starting props, Neethling Fouche and Brok Harris, had a field day as they won several penalties at the set-piece. When they were taken off early in the second half their replacements, Ali Vermaak and Sazi Sandi, continued to dominate as they too had the home side’s scrum back-pedalling on a few occasions.

The lineouts were evenly contested but head coach John Dobson will be delighted by the performance of new second-row Ruben van Heerden, who shone in the execution of his core duties and scored a well-taken try early in the first half. Another player who caught the eye was stand-in skipper Deon Fourie, who was a menace on defence and impressed with his breakdown work.

Unforced errors prove costly for the Sharks

With the match being played at Kings Park – where they haven’t been on the losing side since Powell took over the coaching reins from Sean Everitt at the end of November – the Sharks were expected to give a good account of themselves but they were their own worst enemies on their home turf.

The Durban-based outfit were never at the races as they committed a plethora of unforced errors from the outset. From their inability to put the ball out of the playing field when kicking for touch to handling errors and poor decision making, Powell’s charges couldn’t get going and the Stormers made them pay by outscoring their hosts by six tries to three.

Individual mistakes were the order of the day but they also made several team errors, especially on defence where they lost their structure and looked all at sea, especially when their opponents launched several waves of attack from deep inside their half.

Stormers half-backs the key to victory

Although the entire Stormers matchday squad deserve credit for their triumph, the performances of Springbok duo Herschel Jantjies (scrum-half) and Manie Libbok (fly-half) should not be underestimated as they built on the dominance of their forwards and did brilliantly to unleash their dangerous outside backs.

After struggling with his form earlier in the season, Jantjies has impressed since returning from a rib injury in recent weeks. Against the Sharks, his decision making was outstanding, while his crisp service to Libbok meant the Stormers’ chief playmaker could pull the strings in the backline.

Libbok underlined his importance to the Stormers cause with another commanding all-round performance which proved crucial as his team consolidated second position on the URC table. Apart from shining on attack, Libbok also showed plenty of heart on defence, especially when the likes of Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Ben Tapuai took the ball into contact in his channel.

Stormers still South Africa’s best side

As the tournament’s defending champions, there was pressure on the Stormers as they went through a mini slump – after suffering successive defeats to Glasgow Warriors and Ulster – but they received a boost as several experienced players returned to action for this clash and they delivered an outstanding all-round performance for the full 80 minutes.

The result means they are now firmly entrenched in second position in the URC standings – behind Leinster – with 50 points amassed from 13 matches played and they are now seven points ahead of their nearest rivals Ulster, who have a game in hand. The win over the Sharks also gives the Stormers plenty of confidence ahead of their next match, against the Bulls in Pretoria on February 18.

The Stormers are yet to lose against the Bulls in the URC – after beating them twice in the league and the final last season as well as in this season’s corresponding league fixture in Cape Town at the end of last year. Since the inception of the URC, the Stormers have won most of their derbies with a draw against the Sharks in Durban and a loss against the Lions in Cape Town last season their worst results. That impressive record underlines their status as South Africa’s leading side.

READ MORE: United Rugby Championship: John Dobson hails magic Manie Libbok after Sharks win

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