Stormers defence stands tall again after blanking Scarlets in commanding URC win

The Stormers moved to the top of the United Rugby Championship (URC) log after a convincing 34-0 victory over the Scarlets in Wales.

While the visitors were their own worst enemy at times, they defended brilliantly and converted some of the many chances they created to wipe their opponents off the field. The Cape side, currently on 14 points, can only be overtaken by the Bulls, who face Ulster on Saturday in Belfast.

They started their three-match tour just the way they wanted to – with a statement victory – but it could’ve been a bigger score had they used most of the opportunities they created. It was another strong display from the forwards that laid the foundation for the resounding victory.

However, plenty of improvement is needed from the side looking at their next two duels in Italy.

Director of rugby John Dobson won’t complain too much about the runaway scoreline, and defence coach Norman Laker will have to find a donut shop in Llanelli or Parma to reward the team for keeping their hosts scoreless. It is the second match that the Stormers’ defence held out their opponents to keep them to zero.

Their record early in the season reads like this: three victories, 95 points scored, and 10 points conceded. So far, they’ve scored 12 tries and only conceded two – against some of the top sides in the tournament.

Two yellow cards blemished the performance a bit, but the negative play of the Scarlets at times dragged the visitors down to their level. Ben-Jason Dixon and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu copped the cards, and Dobson will not be too happy with that. The fact that they also fell to the level of negative play from the home side will also not sit well with their coaches.

But they dominated from the onset, and had it not been for their own mistakes, the halftime score of 17-0 could’ve been bigger, with only a try from Player of the Match Evan Roos and fellow loose forward Paul de Villiers on the scoreboard. 

The duo were standout performers on the night, but the entire pack of forwards were excellent, despite it not being the greatest team performance.

Lock Ruben van Heerden, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and replacement scrumhalf Imad Khan scored the other tries of the match.

The five points will set the Stormers up nicely looking at their next two games in Italy against Zebre and Benetton. They have plenty of things to improve on but showed good signs on attack and defence to remain unbeaten on their tour.

Points scorers

Stormers 34 (17): Tries: Evan Roos, Paul de Villiers, Ruben van Heerden, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Willemse. Penalty: Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Scarlets 0.