DHL Stormers back on course in Vodacom URC
The DHL Stormers got their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign back on track on Saturday as they recovered from a three-match losing streak to outplay the Vodacom Bulls 32-19 in Pretoria in their rescheduled round eight fixture.
This victory – the Capetonians’ 10th in 12 matches against their foes from Pretoria – saw them leap into second position on the standings and remain firmly in the race for a home playoff spot.
With three wins in a row and home ground advantage counting in the Vodacom Bulls’ favour, they entered the match as favourites, but they battled to build on their impressive form in the last few rounds as the DHL Stormers rediscovered the grit that saw them top the table for a large part of the competition this season.
It was an entertaining encounter in which both teams were in control at different stages and were reduced to 13 men apiece for a few minutes, but the Capetonians thoroughly deserved the victory.
With all the rescheduled matches now completed, the DHL Stormers are currently in second place on the table (41 points) – four behind log-leaders, the Glasgow Warriors and level on points with Ulster and Leinster – while the Fidelity Securedrive Lions are in seventh place (33 points), the Vodacom Bulls in eighth position (30 points), and the Hollywoodbets Sharks in 11th place (24 points), with six pool rounds remaining.
The competition will be back in full swing next weekend with the Six Nations now wrapped up.
DHL Stormers turn the corner with dominant display in Pretoria
The DHL Stormers showed strong signs that they may have overcome their temporary slump in the Vodacom URC on Saturday, as they held on in the first half with 13 men at a point to dominate proceedings and secure a bonus-point 32-19 victory over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
The hosts started the match high on confidence, and it showed as the forwards dominated proceedings early on, as well as the team in general attack, as they held onto the ball and applied consistent pressure on the Capetonians, although mistakes at crucial times denied them from converting it into points.
They got onto the scoreboard first in the 19th minute compliments of a penalty try shortly after Adre Smith received a yellow card for a high tackle, and their hopes of securing four wins in a row looked even more realistic when DHL Stormers loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon was sent off for an infringement in the maul en route to the tryline, which saw the Bulls take a 7-0 lead.
While the two extra players would ordinarily have bolstered their momentum, the men from Pretoria looked rattled at times making a string of disappointing attacking decisions, and it wasn’t long before the DHL Stormers took control with a try by Damian Willemse and a subsequent penalty goal by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to take a 10-7 halftime lead.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu added another three-pointer in the third quarter, and Paul de Villiers added their second try soon after to stretch their lead to 18-7.
Then drama unfolded for the home side as Cobus Wiese was yellow-carded for shoving a player on the ground, which paved the way for the DHL Stormers to deliver another powerful maul. Vodacom Bulls loose forward Marco van Staden infringed, which cost his team a penalty try, and he was sent to the bin to reduce the hosts to 13 men.
Despite this, the Pretoria outfit managed to work some magic with Canan Moodie chipping through and tapping the ball to Zak Burger to score, but this was cancelled out by a try by Hacjivah Dayimani with 10 minutes left on the clock, which pushed the match out of range for the hosts with the score at 32-14.
The Vodacom Bulls continued to fight and earned a consolation try by Kurt-Lee Arendse on the stroke of full-time, but it was too little too late, as the Capetonians walked away with a rewarding 32-19 victory.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls 19 (7) – Tries: Penalty Try, Zak Burger, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Conversion: Handre Pollard.
DHL Stormers 32 (7) – Tries: Damian Willemse, Paul de Villiers, Penalty Try, Hacjivah Dayimani. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalty Goals: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).
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