Following the Stormers’ 34-29 victory over Connacht, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town.
Top line
A controversial ending to a 10-try thriller as Connacht were denied what could have been a match-winning try if converted due because of an obstruction in the build-up.
But ultimately, John Dobson’s side got over the line for the victory thanks to a hat-trick from the brilliant Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu with further scores from Evan Roos and Paul de Villiers.
Shane Jennings grabbed a brace for the Irish province with Conor Oliver, Dylan Tierney-Martin and Josh Murphy also crossing for tries with Jack Carty’s three missed conversions proving costly.
Santi Cordero came off the bench to race over the line with time almost up on the clock but the Pumas’ try was chalked off in agonising fashion as Connacht’s chances of making the play-offs slipped further into the abyss.
The Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu show
An unbelievable performance from the 23-year-old superstar, who scored a hat-trick of tries in just 27 minutes.
The fly-half copped a lot of flack for his indiscretion against Ulster that resulted in a yellow card but today he not only flexed his incredibly wide range of skills but dominated while doing so.
For a player with such a fantastic skill set, Feinberg-Mngomezulu does not rest on his laurels with two of his tries coming from a fantastic work-rate and sheer desire to influence the match. His second try was particularly superb in that regard as he smartly searched for a second touch.
His third try showed that he is very much ambipedal as he chipped the last Connacht defender with his ‘weaker’ foot, his left, while at pace and gracefully regathered to complete the hat-trick.
He did not stop there, throwing an audacious pass to set up Hartzenberg, when a more basic pass would have worked perfectly fine but where’s the fun in that! It was a fine showing of skill and confidence from a special, special player who is bound to have a long and successful career for club and country.
While he certainly earned the plaudits for his attacking brilliance, his showing extended far beyond that with another sharp showing on defence and excellent decision-making and execution with his kicking game.
Connacht’s never-say-die attitude
The Stormers certainly gifted their hosts opportunities but the Irish province were ruthless in making the most of them. Every time it appeared as though the Stormers would break away on the scoreboard, Connacht managed to find a way back into the game.
Connacht headed into this fixture with long-shot odds of making the play-offs but that did not stop them from fighting for every single point they scored.
Carty will be livid with a few of his kicks at goal as his inaccuracies ultimately proved costly but the team can still be pleased with the efforts, albeit in defeat, as they fought until the final play and looked to have sealed at least a draw before the TMO stepped in.
While the rest means that their season is all but over, there is still plenty to play for, for many individuals as many of the regular Ireland members are bound to make the British and Irish Lions squad and the Connacht men have a handful of games to press for higher honours.
Woeful Stormers defence
Dobson was brutally honest when questioned after the match as he rued the shambolic efforts of his team on defence in the latter stages of the game.
“We didn’t deserve to win” and “we can’t defend like that” were two of the frank statements the director of rugby made, adding that “we can just play our last three home games and call it a season” was another as he was clearly fuming despite the win.
And truthfully, he has good reason to be as the Stormers plotted their own demise time and time again, gifting Connacht a route back into the match. It wasn’t just slipping tackles, which they did a lot, but stupid penalties that gave the visitors easy access to the 22.
The Stormers are renowned for their attacking brilliance and freedom with the ball in hand but the inaugural URC champions also have one of the best defence coaches in the business in Norman Laker and, if Dobson is fuming, Laker will be going through the roof.
The Capetonians have turned their fortunes around this season rather remarkably and now look nailed on for a place in the knockout stages, but as Dobson alluded to, if they defend in the manner they did today, it would have all be for nothing.
Bomb Squad backfires
South African teams have copied the Springboks’ bench tactics in recent seasons, loading the bench with six forwards and two backs more often than not. While it has worked to great effect for the Boks over the years, it does have its risks and rewards and Dobson got the former today.
He rolled the dice, throwing all six of his forwards on at once but the impact was largely nullified moments later as Deon Fourie hobbled off the pitch, meaning that Ben Loader came on in his place and the hosts played with eight backs and seven forwards for the last quarter.
This disrupted their attack and defence as Feinberg-Mngomezulu was only able to add three points for the Stormers once the replacements were made. Still, that was not the only issue the side had as their discipline deteriorated as the game neared a close with silly no-arm tackles and poor execution at lineout time.
While it is certainly useful to throw on six forwards at once, there is a clear disadvantage when things don’t quite go your way and it panned out like that for the Stormers this time around and lucky for them, the starters had built enough of a cushion to hold out for the win.
Next up for the Stormers is a play-off chasing Benetton outfit that swept the Lions aside earlier today while Connacht head north to take on the Joburgers.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/stormers-v-connacht-five-takeaways-as-springboks-sensations-efforts-overshadowed-by-shambolic-defence-in-controversial-finish
