The old and new in the form of young flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed and veteran skipper Ruhan Nel combined superbly to clinch the bonus-point try and place the seal on an emphatic 33-7 Vodacom URC win for the DHL Stormers against Ulster at the DHL Stadium on Saturday.
After effectively stabilising after a ragged period in the first half where they could at one stage have easily been 14-0 down by turning what should be becoming even more of a staple than it is, the driving maul, and a spectacular try that No 8 Evan Roos scored seven minutes into the second half by running 80 metres, the bonus point became the main focus.
The Stormers were making heavy weather of that in a game which, in truth, despite their big margin of victory, included far too many mistakes and too much sloppiness. But with nine minutes to go they launched a sustained attack that for once didn’t break down because of a handling error or because a player slipped on the stadium turf, and the coup de grace came via a perfectly targeted cross-kick on penalty advantage from Ahmed that Nel caught to go over.
Ahmed’s conversion made it 26-7 and the Stormers were home and dry, but just for good measure, Ahmed then dropped in for what could become a trademark wriggle-through try from close range to ensure that the 20-year-old who only this week was selected into the Springbok touring squad added a five-pointer to his four conversions.
The even younger player alongside him, Markus Muller, who will also become a Bok if he gets onto the field in the forthcoming away leg of the Nations Championship, also had some excellent moments in the game and there is certainly a bright future for both of them. Perhaps, though, the ease with which the Stormers found gaps in the first quarter hour of the game seduced them, for the hosts did again fall into their old habit of being too loose.
WAY TOO MANY TURNOVERS
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson will not have been happy with 14 turnovers against his team in the first half alone, and neither should anyone at the Stormers be happy with the way the players seem to so easily lose their footing on the stadium turf. On a few occasions in the first half it was the Stormers building, and then there’d be a slip, and Ulster would end up applying the pressure.
That was kind of what happened when Ulster set up the territorial ascendancy that first saw an Ulster try ruled out because the player lost control of the ball on the line, with the TMO being consulted in what turned into quite a lengthy process, and then not long after that Dave McCann crashing over for the first points of the match.
The Stormers could easily have conceded another try not long after that as errors again gave Ulster an opportunity, but fortunately for them they managed to scramble. Had they gone 14-0 down, it might have been an interesting test of nerve for the Stormers.
DRIVING MAUL SET THEM ON THEIR WAY
But the message seemed to go out to the Stormers, and it was a timely one, that they should revert to what drove them to such an imperious victory in the game against the Hollywoodbets Sharks three weeks ago. No, not so much the scrum, although they were dominant there too but just didn’t get rewarded enough initially by the referee, but the driving maul.
When they turned to the maul, it was Ulster under pressure, and although one attacking lineout was penalised to give Ulster temporary relief in that period, the Stormers’ pressure resulted in Ulster going a man down when Canan Knox was yellow-carded.
On the half-hour mark, the Stormers’ dominance took its toll as Cobus Reinach fed man of the match Paul de Villiers, who in turn channelled big Tuks Mchunu, and it was the prop’s chicken-wing pass that set up big JD Schickerling to crash over for the first Stormers try. A few minutes later, there was a good chase and then a charge down from De Villiers that put the Stormers ahead for the first time after 38 minutes, and that score - 12-7 - was also the halftime score.
It was always going to be a long way back for huffing and puffing Ulster if the Stormers put more daylight between the teams, and that came about when Ahmed, yes, him again, found the gap which Roos was put through via some deft work from Reinach. The sight of the strongly built Roos outpacing the Ulster cover defence was certainly the highlight of the game from the viewpoint of the home spectators, but unfortunately, not long after that, he had to limp off with an injury.
NO QUIBBLING OVER 26 POINT WIN OVER ULSTER
It was by no means a perfect performance, but Ulster have been tough opponents for the Stormers in the past, so they certainly won’t quibble with a 26-point winning margin, particularly given the disruptions they have experienced over the past eight days. They lost some star players to injury against the Scarlets this time last week, including two hookers, and before the game it was confirmed that one of the players set to step in, Bongi Mbonambi, would not be playing off the bench after all.
The Springbok who has rejoined the Stormers from the Sharks apparently tweaked a hamstring in training, and while he could have played if he had to, it was decided not to risk it. As it turned out, starting hooker Vernon Paulo recovered from his nightmare game against Edinburgh, and while the lineout wasn’t perfect, it looked like any dysfunction could be blamed elsewhere.
The win meant the Stormers ended this five-game block start to the season with just one blemish on their record, that being the narrow loss to Edinburgh in Edinburgh, and if they can bring some better cohesion to their game, they could be set for a strong challenge in both competitions they are competing in. Their next game is the return derby against the Sharks in Durban on 5 December.
Scores
DHL Stormers 33 - Tries: JD Schickerling, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel and Yaqeen Ahmed; Conversions: Yaqeen Ahmed 4.
Ulster 7 - Try: Dave McCann; Conversion: Jack Murphy.