In the lead-up to the Stormers’ match against the Kings, stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth said that they weren’t going to underestimate the Kings because of their “fighting spirit”.
And after their round three Super Rugby match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, one can clearly see why after the Stormers registered a 41-10 bonus-point win on Saturday afternoon.
It took the Stormers a while to get into the game, and when they did, they looked good. So good that they ran in six beautiful tries to the Kings’ one.
Offloads were the Stormers’ finest asset in Port Elizabeth and that skill bagged them a number of tries, but there were just too many ugly moments in between those beautiful tries the Stormers scored. And the Kings’ downright refusal to lie down didn’t make the tough encounter any easier.
Yes, the Stormers did well in the scrums again and they piled on the pressure at the breakdowns in the second half, but they gave the Kings just too many opportunities, especially in the second half, and the fact that the hosts came painfully close to scoring three times in the second 40 should say enough.
Robbie Fleck’s team turned over way too much possession and it only got worse in the second half, and they will be kicking themselves for being guilty of so many handling errors as the game progressed (the Kings were guilty of this too).
Hooker Ramone Samuels, who came on halfway through the second half, also urgently needs to work on his lineout throws.
But hey, a win is a win, right? And if that’s the case, the Stormers should have gained some confidence going into their bye next week (as a few tough games await them).
There were a number of brilliant individual performances by the Stormers, but Chris Cloete’s breakdown work ranked high as he tormented the visitors on the ground and secured a number of turnovers for the Kings.
Flyhalf and former Stormers player Lionel Cronje also had a good outing, as he built on his impressive kicking record.
On the Stormers’ side, Etzebeth had a dreamy stint as captain as he was colossal in the lineouts, made big tackles and just produced an overall hard-working performance to walk away as the Man of the Match.
And Damian Willemse proved just why he is regarded as such a hot prospect. He came on late in the match, but almost immediately produced a bewildering step, followed by a stunning offload off the ground.
As many mistakes as there were, the Stormers also deserve praise for their tries. And unlike previous seasons, this season at last they are actually putting tries on the board – this time six of them.
Stormers captain Eben Etzebeth was chosen as the man of the match. Photo: Deryck Foster, BackpagePix
After a bit of a scrappy first 15 minutes, Dillyn Leyds produced a bit of individual brilliance when he scored the first try of the match.
After receiving the ball next to touch inside his own half, he gave a dummy pass on his inside before turning on the gas and sprinting down touch, beating three defenders in the process (and impressively brushing one aside with a left-handed fend). Robert du Preez failed to add the conversion (5-3).
The Stormers got their second try after Nizaam Carr started an attack in his own half, and superb backline interplay and inside passing sent the ball to flyhalf Robert du Preez, who did well to get the pass away to Bjorn Basson on the outside.
Basson showed his experience and understanding of the laws when he placed the ball on the ground after being taken down by the tackler, before getting back up on his feet and snatching the ball up to score. This time, Du Preez added the extras (3-12).
Stormers No 6 Rynhardt Elstadt’s second big appearance (his first one being that fight he got involved in, which took about five minutes to resolve) was when he finished off some hot play by the visitors.
Fullback SP Marais cleared the ball after a lineout 20 metres out from the Kings’ tryline, followed by a strong drive from prop Oli Kebble.
Carr then sent the ball to EW Viljoen, who got the pass away and Du Preez showed great hands again to get a quick, short pass away to Elstadt on his outside a short distance from the whitewash to score in the corner (halftime 3-17).
The Stormers got a great start in the second half after a fine break by inside centre Dan du Plessis set up the Stormers’ fourth try. After Du Plessis got taken down, Dewaldt Duvenage sent the ball to Du Preez, who worked his way through a few defenders to score. Du Preez added the conversion to stretch the Stormers’ lead to 3-24.
After winning a lineout in the third quarter, the Kings were rewarded for their enterprise, with a try to Makazole Mapimpi.
After a ruck in opposition half, Cronje switched the direction of play with a perfect grubber, and the bounce was good enough for Mapimpi to pick it up and score in the corner.
Cronje, who is yet to miss a kick this season, continued his flawless kicking record as he added the conversion to narrow the Stormers’ lead (10-24).
As the clocked ticked down, Marais put in a fantastic run and a perfectly timed offload to boot to replacement scrumhalf and Super Rugby debutant Justin Phillips, who crossed over to score.
In his first Super Rugby appearance this season, replacement flyhalf Kurt Coleman added the conversion to take the score to 10-34.
Just before the siren went, Willemse produced that step and offload I was talking about as Viljoen went over for the sixth try. Coleman added the conversion and that was the ball game.
Point scorers:
Kings: Tries: Makazole Mapimpi Conversions: Lionel Cronje Penalties: Cronje.
Stormers: Tries: Dillyn Leyds, Bjorn Basson, Rynhardt Elstadt, Robert du Preez, Justin Phillips, EW Viljoen. Conversions: Du Preez (2), Kurt Coleman (2). Penalties: Du Preez.