Another Du Plessis lights up Newlands
THE name Du Plessis is synonymous with Newlands and on Friday night it was the turn of 21-year-old Jean-Luc du Plessis to leave his mark on the famous turf.
The Stormers flyhalf scored 16 points as the home team cruised to a comfortable win over Japanese Super Rugby rookies the Sunwolves.
Victory with a try-scoring bonus point lifted the Stormers to 23 points on the standings with their fifth win in six matches and well clear at the top of the SA Conference. With slightly less than half the season gone the Stormers already have one foot in the play-offs.
It wasn’t only Du Plessis’s points haul that caught the eye, but also his ability to play teammates into space with accurate passing and clever kicks.
He’s raw and enthusiastic and is overly involved in every aspect of the game, but he is a superb talent.
A brilliant solo try at the end of the match — the Stormers’ seventh of the night — where Du Plessis toed the ball ahead and controlled it as if he were Lionel Messi, brought a standing ovation. Fittingly he scored in the left-hand corner where his father Carel scored so many times for Western Province.
The Stormers pack laid the foundation for their potent backs to strike quickly and lethally. Only a couple of sloppy periods allowed the Sunwolves to keep the score respectable,
We missed 30 tackles, which is not what a championship side is about. We ... have to work hard
scoring three tries of their own when the Stormers went to sleep defensively.
“We let ourselves down at times in defence,” coach Robbie Fleck said. “We missed 30 tackles, which is not what a championship side is about. We are going to have to work hard on staying focused the entire game.
“When the match became loose we started to miss tackles.”
Fullback Cheslin Kolbe, who had another hugely influential evening, left the field 10 minutes from the end after being clattered by Sunwolves lock Tim Bond. It was late, high and involved no arms and Bond duly received a red card.
He unsuccessfully, and not unreasonably, argued that Kolbe was a short man.
Fleck allayed fears that Kolbe would miss next week’s outing against the Lions. “Cheslin came through his concussion protocols and actually wanted to return to the game,” Fleck said.
Flank Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who also had a good match, scored two tries while prop Vincent Koch, hooker Scarra Ntubeni, lock Pieter-Steph du Toit, flank Siya Kolisi and scrumhalf Louis Schreuder also gave eye catching performances.