Last Friday the Stormers trudged off in Edinburgh beaten 17-13, and the questions followed them home. On Saturday, in front of 42,368 people in Cape Town, they gave their answer. The Stormers v Sharks result was 39-22, six tries to three, and the only unbeaten South African side left in the URC is no longer unbeaten.
The Sharks came west with two wins from two and a pack full of Springboks. They left with a lesson about discipline, and a scrum count they will not want to watch again.
Stormers v Sharks result: how it was won
Seabelo Senatla had the crowd on its feet inside five minutes, finishing the opening try, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu added a 13th-minute penalty. The Sharks hit back at once: flank Manu Tshituka scored in the 14th minute, and replacement flyhalf Gianni Lombard, on early for the injured Vusi Moyo, kicked a 29th-minute penalty. At 8-8 it was the arm-wrestle everyone had predicted.
Then the Sharks lost their cool, and the game with it. Flank Matt Romao was shown a yellow card in the 34th minute, for a dangerous tackle on Jonathan Roche according to SA Rugby magazine. Hacjivah Dayimani drove over for the Stormers in the 35th minute, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted.
Tshituka followed Romao to the sin bin just before the break, and hooker Andre-Hugo Venter scored in first-half added time. The Stormers turned round 22-8 up.
Thirteen against fifteen
The Sharks started the second half two men short, and the Stormers did not waste it. Leolin Zas went over within a minute of the restart, and Dayimani scored his second in the 46th minute. At 34-8 the derby was gone.
To their credit, the Sharks never stopped running once they had their full side back. Romao scored a 50th-minute try and number 8 Phepsi Buthelezi added another six minutes later, both converted by Lombard. Replacement hooker JJ Kotze settled any nerves with the Stormers’ sixth try in the 62nd minute, and the home side held on for the last quarter.
SA Rugby magazine reported that Feinberg-Mngomezulu was named player of the match. He kicked three conversions and a penalty, and the game ran through his hands.
The Sharks also lost two players to injury in the first half. Moyo went off in the 18th minute and Eben Etzebeth in the 34th, both listed as injury replacements in the URC’s official match data.
The scrum told the story
The URC’s official numbers show where this was won:
| Stormers | Sharks | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries | 6 | 3 |
| Metres made | 398 | 245 |
| Clean breaks | 16 | 1 |
| Defenders beaten | 27 | 10 |
| Missed tackles | 10 | 27 |
| Scrums lost | 0 | 3 |
| Scrum offences | 2 | 7 |
| Penalties conceded | 10 | 13 |
| Possession | 45% | 55% |
Here is the striking part. The Sharks had more of the ball, and more of it in the second half. They simply could not hold the Stormers when it mattered: 27 missed tackles against 10, and a single clean break in 80 minutes. Seven scrum offences is the number that will hurt most in Durban.
What it means
For the Stormers, a bonus-point win and the perfect reply to that Edinburgh loss, which The Final Whistle for round 2 took apart. Everything on John Dobson’s side lives on our Stormers page.
For the Sharks, wins over the Ospreys and Leinster still stand, and the fight they showed with a full side is real. But two yellow cards in seven minutes cost them this derby. Their season so far is on our Sharks page.
What comes next
Europe takes over next weekend. Bristol Bears come to Cape Town on Saturday 17 October for the Stormers’ opening Investec Champions Cup match, and SA Rugby magazine reported that the Sharks start their Challenge Cup campaign in France against Lyon. URC duty resumes a week later: Cardiff host the Sharks on the evening of Friday 23 October (20:45 SAST), and the Scarlets are at DHL Stadium on the Saturday afternoon (16:00 SAST). The return derby is in Durban on 5 December. The rest of this weekend’s sport is in our SA sport fixtures guide.