The DHL Stormers ensured they will head on their four match Vodacom United Rugby Championship tour with the buffer of a full house of 10 log points from their two matches so far as they completed a 52-7 win over the Scarlets at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday.
The Stormers showed sublime skill and played with what could best be described as a measure of nonchalance throughout, as much evidenced by the calm way Leolin Zas dropped back to catch a ball under pressure before popping it up to Warrick Gelant, as it was when they had ball in hand and were attacking.
Indeed, if you didn’t know any better and misunderstood how hard the Stormers work on their busy, energetic playing template which emphasises the ball doing the work and sometimes gives you the impression they think the so-called opposition red zone is on their own, meaning Stormers tryline, you’d be tempted to label this performance a light hearted romp.
It did look like that on occasions, with the Stormers’ willingness to run the ball from almost anywhere and try the most audacious things giving the impression they thought they might be playing on a village green and just for the fun of it.
It was a serious day at the office for them though and it netted them eight tries as they comfortably pocked the full house of log points that will send them away on tour, and into what should be a much tougher meeting with Glasgow Warriors at the Scotstoun on Friday night, feeling confident and good about life.
They certainly looked like they enjoyed their day at the office, starting from the opening minutes when they opened up the Scarlets defence with their hard running and switches of direction but just weren’t able to finish off. Once they did get on the board though through the impressive Marcel Theunissen going over off a quick tap near the posts it started a stream of tries that led to them securing the four try bonus point as early as the 28th minute. That came through a typically spectacular Stormers counter-attack, started by Warrick Gelant fielding the ball near his own line and featured a Hacjivah Dayimani surge that put flyhalf Clayton Blommetjies in after the flanker had drawn the last remaining defender.
Theunissen scored the second Stormers try as the forwards drove over the line from a lineout and Theunissen also featured prominently in the third score, with his break setting up the attack after the Stormers had poached a Scarlets lineout ball. Scrumhalf Paul de Wet rounded off, and he also scored the first try of the second half as he caught the Scarlets napping near the right corner flag.
The Scarlets did score a try of their own in the 16th minute through scrumhalf Kieran Hardy and at that stage were still nominally in the game at 12-7 down. It wouldn’t have done much more though than quell any potential angst Stormers defence coach might have been feeling about where he was going to find the money to buy the team donuts on Monday, something he does when the Stormers complete the rugby equivalent of soccer’s clean sheet.
It certainly never looked like the Scarlets would challenge, not even after that solitary try, and when new recruit Ben Loader capitalised on a break and drive through from inside centre Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu for the fifth try it took the Stormers into a 31-7 lead at the break.
Loader, formerly of London Irish, was chosen at wing but looked the part of the position he was playing when he scored his first try for the Stormers. And that could be a good thing as the reason he was playing in the midfield was because of a potentially problematic injury to Stormers outside centre Ruhan Nel.
The former Blitzbok went to ground and was stretchered from the field halfway through the half. If there is one position the Stormers can’t afford any injuries it is centre so if the injury is serious it could overshadow all the good that was done by his team on a windy afternoon in Stellenbosch.
Dobson emptied his bench quite early but it didn’t prevent his team playing with what looked like gay abandon, with Courtnall Skosan, formerly of the Emirates Lions before he headed overseas, celebrating his first try for the Stormers when he was put in at the right hand by Loader, who should have been pleased with what he delivered in his first start.
So should Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who made a few early handling errors but after that was a creative influence par excellence, as indeed from the back was Gelant, who has a bag of circus tricks stemming from his ball skills that is worth the admission price all on its own.
Apart from the Nel injury the only other concern for coach Dobson after this game should be an occasionally dysfunctional lineout, although that might also have been explained by the blustery conditions.
Scores
DHL Stormers 52 - Tries: Marcel Theunissen 2, Paul de Wet 2, Clayton Blommetjies, Ben Loader, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Courtnall Skosan; Conversions: Clayton Blommetjies 2 and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 4. Scarlets 7 - Try: Kieran Hardy, Conversion: Ioan Lloyd.