Following the Stormers’ 34-24 victory over Cardiff, here is how we rated John Dobson’s side in the United Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town.
Stormers player ratings v Cardiff
15 Damian Willemse: A lazy tackle resulted in a red card, which was a real shame because he was having a blinder of a performance, and that spoilt it. His superb kick led to Leolin Zas’ second try while he repeatedly beat defenders with his brilliant footwork. A joy to watch before that red. 5
14 Suleiman Hartzenberg: It’s easy to see why the 21-year-old already has 50 Stormers appearances and has caught the eye of the Springboks selectors with involvement in previous alignment camps. He was electric today, punching through the holes in the Cardiff defence each time he got the ball and was rewarded with a try after setting up Zas for his first. Grabbed another after a gorgeous kick from Manie Libbok. Excellent under the high ball, too. He has a long career ahead of him in the blue and white hoops still, but that green and gold can’t be too far away either. Voted as Man of the Match and rightly so. 9
13 Wandisile Simelane: Some trickery with his footwork, which is stock standard for him, and made good decisions overall. Solid without being as sensational as last week, which was always going to be a big ask. 6
12 Dan du Plessis: Should not have ended up in the position as pillar defender and Cardiff profited from it as Danny Southworth scored. But outside of that, it was another solid shift. Always a glue-man in the centres and today was no different. 6
11 Leolin Zas: Simply brilliant. He may well force his way back into the Springboks’ frame before the end of the URC season. His first try was simple wing play to follow the attack but his second was a sensational bit of skill to keep the ball in play before showing his predatory nature to score and played to the whistle. Excellent under the high ball, too. Should have done better with 15 minutes to play to get his hat-trick. 8
10 Manie Libbok: A marvellous return from injury as he barely missed a beat during his 55 minutes on the park. A stunning long pass led to the opening try for the Stormers, and he served Hartzenberg on a platter for his second. His high kicks were on point, too. A timely return, and Dobson will be pleased that he has hit the ground sprinting. 8
9 Herschel Jantjies: Potentially his final game in Cape Town, barring a host of upsets in the knockout stages. There was no stunning break, a trademark of his game, but it was a solid outing with sharp service to Libbok to allow the fly-half to take the spotlight. Some well-hung bombs for good measure, too. 6
The pack
8 Marcel Theunissen: Filling in with Evan Roos rested, Theunissen put in yet another solid performance off the back of a Man of the Match shift last week. Always effective in contact but showed a bit of flash too. 7
7 Louw Nel: The 22-year-old showed real promise yet again as he led the charge defensively and was mightily impressive in contact. Got a decent purchase from his carries too. 6
6 Dave Ewers: There is nothing fancy about his approach. It’s just straight up the guts and incredibly abrasive into the tackle. His final game in Cape Town and just like his storied career with the Exeter Chiefs, he did not let the side down for a second with a solid shift. 6
5 JD Schickerling: Big in the carries and at lineout time. Grew into the game and really finished strongly. 7
4 Salmaan Moerat: He is really hitting good form for the Stormers of late. Good carries, nice hands and a solid shift in the lineouts. Not as much of a standout as his most recent games, but a strong showing nonetheless. 6
3 Neethling Fouché: The scrum was hit and miss all game with little rhythm as the Stormers got penalised but it was mostly on the other side of the hooker where the issue was. Aggressive in the collisions, another decent return to action. Got the upper hand in the scrum late in the game. 7
2 Joseph Dweba: Another who was playing probably his final game in Stormers colours in Cape Town. A really busy shift and an accurate one too, with just one lineout not finding the jumper. 6
1 Sti Sithole: Repeatedly found himself on the wrong end of referee Gianluca Gnecchi’s whistle in the scrum. Some of those calls may have been debatable and he did adapt to a degree, but it was costly for the Stormers. Decent in open play. 4
Replacements: Unsurprisingly, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu made a real impact off the bench, picking up from where Libbok left off and came up with a moment of magic that put the game out of Cardiff’s reach. Paul de Wet and Paul de Villiers impressed too but the visitors threatened a comeback once the changes started to occur. Before Feinberg-Mngomezulu put the final nail in the coffin. 6
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/stormers-player-ratings-marvellous-manie-libbok-shines-on-comeback-as-damian-willemses-blinder-spoilt
