Sacha on song as Stormers see off Scarlets for crucial URC bonus-point win

The Stormers razzle dazzled in their return game in the United Rugby Championship, but an error-filled second half almost chucked a win away in Llanelli against the Scarlets on Saturday.

While it took a while for the visitors to find their groove, first having to grind it out against a fired-up home side in the opening 10 minutes, their ability to attack from almost everywhere on the field paved the way for the opening tries to set them up.

In the second 40, two late tries and some hard tackling secured the five points and a 29-17 bonus-point victory in a Jekyll and Hyde performance.

Captain Salmaan Moerat led the defence with his extreme physicality, and quite a couple of Scarlets attackers were at the receiving end of bone-crunching tackles by the Springbok lock.

After setting the tone with their defence and putting their hosts under pressure, it allowed them to transition to the attack.

Those two first-half tries were brilliant, and both will surely resurface somewhere in the season again in a URC highlights reel.

Winger Ben Loader rounded off in the right-hand corner for the first score, and the interplay between the backs and forwards laid the platform. Fullback Warrick Gelant’s magic was a treat in the build-up.

The second one, by veteran Deon Fourie, stole the show, though.

It started with a magical out-the-back offload by the returning Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. He put up a Player of the Match performance in a satisfactory first game back after his series of injuries.

The pass was caught by lock Ruben van Heerden in his half, and he offloaded with a ‘chicken wing’ to Gelant, who hit a gap.

Gelant’s inside pass went to outside centre Wandisile Simelane, who danced around a couple of defenders, but was tackled short of the tryline.

After some recycling, Van Heerden gave another out-the-back offload to Gelant, who dummied in outrageous fashion to put Fourie into a gap to run around and score under the sticks.

Fourie, unfortunately, found himself on the receiving end of a collision with Moerat, when the captain made another cracking tackle and knocked into his teammate.

The flanker had to leave the field after being knocked out, and was missed when the team were under pressure.

While they dominated the first half and took a 15-7 lead into the break, things fell apart in the second half.

The Cape side could only score three points when their hosts were down to 14 players, and conceded a converted try.

The Stormers tried everything possible to lose the game, and scrambled to get the final two tries for the bonus-point victory.

It was a grind, but they managed to get the fourth and final one in the 79th minute when replacement hooker André-Hugo Venter busted over after sustained pressure.

Before that score, a 50-22 banana kick by Simelane set up a lineout in the Scarlets’ danger zone.

But they should never have been in a position to lose the match, and in the final five minutes, it still looked possible.

The Stormers’ game management in the second half was poor. They panicked where they would normally be as cool as a cucumber.

Errors were at the end of the day in that 40, where their passes and kicks put them under immense pressure.

Spurred on by their home crowd, the Scarlets fought valiantly, but they too were guilty of trying to force too much when they had the Cape side in a stranglehold.

The win and five points were what the Stormers were after, though, and the performance of Feinberg-Mngomezulu and return of Damian Willemse will be pleasing.

They will have to up their performance if they are to beat Ulster next weekend in Belfast, though.

Points-Scorers

Stormers 29 (15): Tries: Ben Loader, Deon Fourie, Leolin Zas, André-Hugo Venter. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (1).

Scarlets 17 (7): Tries: Ellis Mee, Ioan Nicholas. Conversions: Ioan Lloyd (2). Penalty: Lloyd (1).