The DHL Stormers capped the perfect year as they purred and then stuttered to a 40-8 victory over the Emirates Lions in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby in Cape Town on Saturday night.
The Stormers completed a remarkable feat - being unbeaten at home for the entire 2022 season as they became the inaugural URC champions and are now perfectly placed for a proper title defence of their crown as 2023 rolls around.
A brace of tries by Angelo Davids and another inspired performance by Hacjivah Dayimani closed off the perfect end to 2022 for John Dobson’s side, although they may have some other injury problems to contend with as Marvin Orie trudged off with an injury to perhaps dampen the mood a little bit.
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— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) December 31, 2022
?? A New Year's to remember
6? of the best
?? Unbeaten at home in 2022
?? Faithful out in forcehttps://t.co/1rmGsOvab3
Still, there is no doubt this Stormers side is in such a good space at the moment that their attacking flair is almost natural and it wasn’t surprising to see them score three first-half tries and virtually take the game away from the Lions early on, with the scoreline being the only debatable point.
For while the Lions looked to be trying hard, it was almost inevitable that the Stormers were playing with so much flair that they made their tries look almost easy.
And while they don’t have the likes of Salmaan Moerat and Evan Roos there, their replacements have been purring along like a good well-oiled engine, and Dayimani’s trademark runs on the outside have been the elixir the Stormers backline has been looking for.
With their scrum dominant and the confidence to run from almost anywhere, you almost felt sorry for the Lions, who seem to be stuck in a confidence and personality crisis of their own.
There is no doubt the Johannesburg side can mix it up with the best, but they lack the confidence, or the players, or the selection, or perhaps a combination of all three to get it properly right.
For a side that has built a reputation on being able to play at pace and counter-attack, it was almost as if the Stormers had stolen their identity and the Lions, when they did try, were woefully inefficient and lacked the self-confidence their Cape counterparts had in abundance.
That is why it wasn’t a surprise when Damian Willemse opened the scoring, finding a mismatch with Asenathi Ntlabakanye after nine phases of rumbling towards the line.
Damian Willemse droppin' a filthy #NewYearsEve dummy ??@Vodacom #URC | #STOvLIO | @TheStormers pic.twitter.com/MMQMCD9A4C
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) December 31, 2022
STORMERS DESERVE TO TAKE A BOW
The Stormers were aided in their endeavours by an inspired Deon Fourie, whose first-half performance hardly had you checking his age, but rather counting the number of turnovers he performed in exceptional circumstances.
Almost every time the Lions got go-forward, it was Fourie that stopped them almost single-handedly and won the penalty for his side.
He got onto the scoresheet for the second try, doing a hooker’s trademark run at the back of a rolling maul, and it wasn’t surprising to see him smile as he stood up with the ball.
It was then Paul de Wet’s turn to find a hole and offload to a flying Dan du Plessis to put the Stormers 19-3 up and looking set to get their bonus point before halftime.
The Lions struck back early in the second half after a number of phases brought them close and then a wide pass to Henco van Wyk found the midfielder in enough space to score the only try for the Johannesburg side for the night.
But then it was back to the norm as Davids got his first, blasting his way down the near touchline to step inside and score a beauty.
His second, also from a Dayimani pass, was perhaps a tad lucky not to be called forward, but it crowned an exceptional year for Dobson’s side as they continue to march on in the URC.
Ending 2022 in absolute carnage ??@Vodacom #URC | #STOvLIO | @TheStormers pic.twitter.com/vVy8xb7lks
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) December 31, 2022
And with the new year waiting, they are sitting pretty to defend their title, although Leinster may well have something to say about that in the coming months.
Either way, they deserve to take a bow and the Cape Town faithful have been rewarded for their patience through all the drama of the preceding years of political turmoil.
2023 can only look brighter for Dobson and co.
SCORERS
DHL Stormers - tries: Angelo Davids (2), Damian Willemse, Deon Fourie, Dan du Plessis, Marcell Theunissen. Conversions: Manie Libbok (5)
Emirates Lions - try: Henco van Wyk. Penalty: Jordan Hendrikse.