Following the Stormers’ 52-40 victory over the Scarlets at the DHL Stadium, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash.
Top Line
A helter-skelter epic in Cape Town with the hosts taking the spoils on a day that youth stole the show. 92 points split 52 to the hosts and 40 to the visitors, with the former winning the try count eight to six, encapsulated the try-fest extravangenza the Stormers’ faithful and the pocket of travelling Welshmen were treated to.
The Tygervalley students brought the gees (vibe), as noted by winning captain Paul de Villiers, while the two teams added the physicality, ingenuity and sheer attacking brilliance, with defence comfortably coming second in this URC fixture.
John Dobson’s men were quickest out the blocks, with young tighthead Zachary Porthen benefiting from a slick dummy maul lineout move to open the scoring try in the 11th minute. Just four minutes later, Haashim Pead had his first try for his new club as he latched onto a stunning Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu pass before the Scarlets mustered a reply.
The Welsh outfit exploited the right-hand side of the Stormers’ defence with Joe Roberts and Ioan Jones running over in the 18th and 30th minutes, but in between those scores was a runaway try from loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Jones’ try made it a five-point game in the final 10 minutes of the half, but the Stormers extended that advantage to 33-14 courtesy of Seabelo Senatla and Deon Fourie scores.
Whilst it was the hosts who started quickest in the first half, it was the visitors who shot out the blocks in the second half. Macs Page scored inside the first two minutes, with Roberts grabbing his second soon after.
Young prop Olly Reid got one back for the hots in the 54th before Josh Macleod scored before the hour mark and Roberts completed his hat-trick five minutes later to level the scores at 40 apiece.
The final 10 minutes belonged to one man, though: Yaqeen Ahmed, who scored twice to seal the result as the Scarlets came away with just one losing bonus point for their efforts. That will certainly sting, while Dobson will be pleased with the full-house five points but livid at the atrocious defensive performance.
Stormers’ ingenuity
Stormers forwards’ coach Rito Hlungwani certainly earned his pay this week with his pack executing some smart, pre-planned set-moves around the lineout to exploit weaknesses in Scarlets’ defence.
Porthen was the beneficiary of the first as a nice bit of deception, dummying a driving maul which Scarlets would have expected, before stand-in captain De Villiers fed the try-hungry tighthead. The young front-rower is a serious 130kg athlete, and there was no stopping him with a head of speed from five metres out.
The fifth try was another bit of ingenuity as Connor Evans claimed the ball at the back of the lineout, threw to a pod at the front, formed the driving that raced away to gift Fourie a belated 40th birthday try.
Scarlets ruthlessly punish inaccuries
The opening 10 minutes of the second half was the period of the game when the Scarlets really exposed the Stormers’ soft underbelly and ruthlessly pounced. Page’s try came off the back of a tremendously poor kick by Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but as the saying goes, a kick is only as good as its chase and, unfortunately for the Springboks playmaker, his teammates didn’t improve the quality of the up-and-under in the slightest.
Instead, the Scarlets claimed the scraps; Ioan Nicholas made a break right through the middle – a maddening occurrence for a defence coach – and the swift attacking move ended with Dane Blacker whipping the ball out to Page.
To add insult to injury, Evan Roos got caught in two minds on whether to pass or carry, was hammered in the tackle, spilled the ball, which Roberts lapped up and sped away to score. It was an easily avoidable 14-point swing and put the hosts under unnecessary pressure.
Furthermore, the two first-half tries that the visitors scored came through some suspect defence, with the Stormers twice being exploited on the right-hand side, with Leolin Zas found wanting in defence. It could well have been worse had Page not been knocked out when attempting to score a try that would have put the Welsh outfit in front.
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Future Springboks half-back combination debuts
We got a look into the future with Pead and Feinberg-Mngomezulu debuting as a half-back combination in the Stormers’ blue and white hoops. The latter has already stamped his mark on the international game, while the former has been tipped for a bright, bright future in Green and Gold.
While South Africa don’t lack options in the number nine jersey, Pead is bound to put pressure on the selectors going forward and was doing so already with the Lions and through his performances with the Junior Boks when he was posting Antoine Dupont-esque numbers.
There is no doubting the raw potential of the duo and combination as a whole, and we saw just what they are capable of doing today with Pead crossing for his first try for his new club.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu spotted a clear mismatch in Scarlets’ defensive line and targeted Kemsley Mathias; Pead duly fed his fly-half, who sliced through and, as every good scrum-half does, followed the linebreak, with his half-back partner rewarding him for doing so with a filthy no-look pass.
There were litterings of brilliance with the pairing combining and moments of individual excellence, but at the same time, there were times when they needed to control proceedings and simply didn’t. Feinberg-Mngomezulu going to the high bomb on the back foot for Page’s try was one example of that, but there were multiple times where the duo overplayed their hands.
The verdict? The Stormers have a potential generational pairing on their payroll going forward, but they do have some learnings to do – which is expected.
The kids steal the show
Just let the kids play and play. They did. Both the Scarlets and Stormers boast vastly experienced players in their match day 23s, but ultimately it was the youth that shone brightest in the Mother City.
Pead was crowned man of the match by the watching public in his first start for the Stormers after returning to his home province from Gauteng. He had flashes of brilliance throughout his shift as he gets more and more comfortable in the blue and white with every appearance.
His captain, De Villiers, produced another shift beyond his years and interacted well with the officiating team despite some tough calls going against his side. It’s easy to forget that he is just 23.
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Highly-rated prop Reid scored a clutch try in the second half but was robust and busy throughout, while Markus Muller impressed in all facets of the game despite the utter madness that was unfolding around him.
Then there was Ahmed, who was on hand to give Scarlets a taste of their own medicine by ruthlessly taking his two opportunities to score, first right under the posts after spotting a gap in the defence before scooping up the ball after Zas mistimed his second kick. The 20-year-old was simply sublime in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Not to forget the stars in red on the day. Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, the youngest player on the pitch at 18, was simply sensational. He knocked over all but one of his attempts on goal, ran the attack like a seasoned professional, finishing with two try assists. Wales have a serious talent on their hands.
Finally, Page. Steve Tandy hailed the depth Wales have in the outside backs when naming his Nations Championship squad for November but has to think that Page deserved to crack the nod.
Before this URC match, he had scored four tries in his four appearances, and he made it five from five. He would have had six, too, had he not been knocked out in the act of attempting to score his second. We wish him all the best for his recovery and can’t wait to see the 21-year-old running in tries again soon.