Stormers, Lions cruise to comfortable wins
SUNWOLVES .................... 31 STORMERS ....................... 44 IT WAS a stirring fightback win, but there’s a number of things the Stormers can, and should, be disappointed in when they reflect on this Super Rugby game in Singapore.
They should be disappointed by the fact that the Sunwolves completely dominated possession in the first half. They should be disappointed by the fact that they lost three crucial attacking lineouts. And they should definitely be disappointed with their poor defensive effort.
But the biggest disappointment should be how the Stormers, who have tried to evolve their game into a more 15-man attacking approach, resorted to a mainly forward game to score three of their six tries.
What makes it even more disappointing is that they scored a stunningly beautiful try in the first half which included all the elements of the kind of play they are striving to reach.
Fullback Dillyn Leyds went on a brilliant jinking, stepping run from his own 22 before offloading from the ground to scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage, who cracked on the pace before slipping a great backflip pass to lock JD Schickerling. Flyhalf Robert du Preez jumped into the act with a superb inside pass (his second of the season) before EW Viljoen rounded off a truly wonderful movement by scooping the ball up off his toes with one hand to reach the glory line.
The Sunwolves called all the shots on attack early on, and they made amazing use of decoy runners, forward and backline interplay, swift passes, impressive handling, and intelligent kicks.
The hosts played at a high tempo and they were also clever at the breakdowns and, at times, opted not to commit too many numbers at the breakdown, which of course resulted in them having more men on their feet in their flat defensive line – something that made it tough for the Stormers to get to the try line.
Their scrummaging was also impressive again, and they often got the ball in and out so quickly that the ball drifted out wide already while the scrum contest still went on.
But there were positive signs for the Stormers. Vice-captain Leyds was outstanding, working hard and making good tackles, while Du Preez had a massive game filled with strong carries, tackles and a brilliant chip kick to outside centre Viljoen, who was perhaps unlucky not to have his try awarded.
Sunwolves: Tries: Derek Carpenter (2), Shota Emi, Liaki Moli Conversions: Jumpei Ogura (4) Penalties: Ogura Yellow cards: Kaito Shigeno Stormers: Tries: EW Viljoen, Rynhardt Elstadt, Wilco Louw, Dewaldt Duvenage, Bongi Mbonambi, Bjorn Basson Conversions: Robert du Preez (4) Penalties: Du Preez (2) Yellow cards: Rynhardt Elstadt, Caylib Oosthuizen THE Lions produced a clinical first half performance to easily get the better of the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth yesterday, reports
Jacques van der Westhuyzen.
Having picked his strongest available team for the match after the Kings had come close to shocking the Sharks in Durban the week before, coach Johan Ackermann got exactly what he wanted from the encounter – five log points.
It was also the perfect “warm-up” for the big conference match against the Sharks at Ellis Park this weekend.
The big star of the Lions performance was rookie wing Michael Tambwe who scored two of his team’s six tries. The Kings managed to dot down on three occasions in a performance that would have given their coach – and supporters – plenty to be encouraged about before their trip to Australia.
Ackermann won’t be at all pleased with the Lions’ total performance. They lacked intensity, their handling was shoddy and their decision-making poor. SCORERS: Kings (12) 19 Tries: Ntsila, Penxe, Jaer; Conversions: Cronje (2) Lions (35) 42 Tries: Tambwe (2), Marx, Jantjies, Kriel, Vorster; Conversions: Jantjies (5), Coetzee