Champion Stormers earn away-day bonus

THE Stormers cut the gap on URC leaders Leinster with a dominant sixtry bonus-point victory on the road at the Sharks.

The defending champions now trail the Irish province by 11 points while Sharks remain in the final play-off place in eighth.

Herschel Jantjies, Ruben van Heerden, Joseph Dweba, Seabelo Senatla, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Manie Libbok crossed for tries for the Stormers, with Libbok adding a further 14 points with the boot and Clayton Blommetjies two.

Gerbrandt Grobler scored two tries for the hosts, with Dan Jooste also crossing and Curwin Bosch converting two.

The Stormers made a lightning start with the opening try in the second minute when fly-half Libbok broke the defensive line and drew his man before flipping to Jantjies to run in for an easy score under the posts. Blommetjies added the extras.

Van Heerden then took an inside pass before bulldozing through the defensive wall to power over and put the Stormers 14-0 up after 18 minutes.

The Stormers’ dominance continued when Dweba touched down from the back of a maul before the Sharks finally got on the board two minutes before the break when Grobler powered through two tackles to go in under the posts.

It took only a minute after the restart for the Stormers to claim the bonus-point try.

A long cut-out pass from a maul found Senatla in acres of space on the left wing to coast in for a try.

Senatla was the architect as Stormers went in for a fifth try, latching onto his own kick ahead before laying off to Hartzenberg to coast in.

Poor handling in the backs from the Sharks allowed Libbok to pounce on the loose ball and sprint clear for the easiest of tries under the sticks.

The Sharks kept fighting and salvaged some pride as Jooste and Grobler claimed two late tries.