Munster restored Irish pride, but Stormers won own victory

The United Rugby Championship (URC) final between the Stormers and Munster wasn’t two quasi-international teams up against each other as when Leinster played Toulouse, but there was a telling message for the Springboks and Ireland.

After the deflation of seeing Leinster lose at the death in the previous weekend’s Championship Cup final, Munster’s epic and thoroughly deserved win will have provided a timely lift for Ireland as a rugby nation.

Most pleasing from an Irish viewpoint was the performance of flyhalf Jack Crowley. There is an understandable preoccupation in Ireland over the search for backup to Jonny Sexton at the coming Rugby World Cup.

In the Cape Town final, Crowley provided the answer.

Crowley was on point with his tactical play and controlled the game brilliantly. He did it in the boisterous atmosphere of a stadium packed with more than 56,000 spectators, most of whom were supporting the Stormers.

His opposite number, though, produced a performance that should set back his hopes of being in the Bok front line at the World Cup.

Manie Libbok was included in the national squad named after the final, and his brilliance fully justifies his selection. He must be one of the flyhalves that travel to France.

But note my caveat — one of a group. To suggest he should be pushed ahead of Handré Pollard, who was the steady ship for the Boks in Japan in 2019, is a bit fanciful. Libbok can win you games, as he did when man of the match in the quarterfinal and semifinal.

He can also lose you a match, though. And Munster might confuse him with Santa Claus after their two recent experiences of him.

Libbok missed five kicks at goal when the two sides met in the league phase. In the final, he missed a sitter of a penalty shortly after halftime that could have changed the narrative of a game that was decided by small margins.

In some ways, Libbok’s kicking from the tee in the URC decider was a microcosm of his play. For he followed up the missed penalty by nailing a pressure conversion from the touchline a few minutes later.

It was a crucial kick because it regained the lead for the Stormers. They clung to it until Libbok made one of the many errors he made in general play. It cost his team the game. Had it not been for Gavin Coombes’ block of Libbok’s attempted punt from inside his red zone, the Stormers would probably still be URC champions. Only four minutes were left when John Hodnett scored Munster’s winning try. Coach John Dobson explained afterwards that the intended option wasn’t taken. Yet were Dobson to break from type and actually blame Libbok it would be against the grain in more than just one way.

The reality is that the risks you accept when you play Libbok in the No 10 jersey and play the game the Stormers way delivered them the kind of support that ensured the final was sold out within three hours of the tickets going on sale.

Dobson and his team’s biggest achievement is that they got the Cape to fall back in love with the Stormers. The way the Stormers play, their willingness to have a go and to take risks often results in spectacular tries.

Look at the final URC log and you will agree that it wins far more games for the Stormers than it loses them.

Early in the past decade the Stormers, coached by Allister Coetzee, were successful purely in terms of their Super Rugby positions. In 2012, they never lost a game and finished first on the log before choking in the semifinal against the Sharks. But their success was built on their defensive system, and they struggled to get try-scoring bonus points.

The Cape fans were not enthused. It led to a steady decline in crowd attendances from the high average of about 36,000 in the middle of the previous decade to just 16,000 before Covid-19 arrived.

That has now been turned around. If the Stormers continue on their present path — and let’s be honest, their tacky home field didn’t help in the final and the new hybrid pitch to be laid in the off-season will boost their strengths — we should be seeing upwards of 30,000 at most games.

The Stormers may have lost the final and surrendered the trophy they held for a year, but the return to the Cape’s attacking DNA by Libbok and his teammates has brought back the love for the Stormers. As a result, rugby in the region has a bright future.