Zas's second-half brace enables Stormers to slay the Dragons

A second-half brace of tries from wing Leolin Zas clinched the DHL Stormers their first Vodacom United Rugby Championship win as the Cape side overcame the Dragons 24-10 at the Rodney Parade in Newport in their last tour match.

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The Stormers had mainly their defence to thank for keeping them within one point of the home team at halftime, with the Dragons going in 10-9 ahead, but in the second half it was pretty much all the Stormers as they dominated possession and territory.

You could argue they made heavy weather of particularly their scrumming dominance, but once they got ahead early in the third quarter there was little doubt they would get across the line as winners even though they had to wait until the final minute to make the win completely certain.

Full-time at Rodney Parade in Newport where the DHL Stormers scored 15 unanswered points in the second half to claim a deserved 24-10 victory over the Dragons and end their tour on a high. Bring on the home games in Cape Town.

?? 10-24 ?? (FT)#DRAvSTO #iamastormer #URC pic.twitter.com/AHpR6MMp9Y

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) October 15, 2021

The Dragons were somehow still ahead in the 63rd minute after the Stormers had spent all of seven minutes camped on the Welsh team’s line and forcing scrum penalty after scrum penalty but somehow not being able to make that dominance count by getting over the line.

Trailing still by the one point deficit that they faced at halftime, it was eventually man of the match Warrick Gelant who got the ball as first receiver on the short side and his little kick through was chased by Zas.

The wing had to take the ball on the bounce but he did that successfully and went over untouched for the try that put his team in front for the first time since the 22nd minute of the first half.

?? Leolin Zas chased the whole length of the pitch to score his second try for @THESTORMERS.#URC | #DRASTO pic.twitter.com/AGTCIpgAqi

— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 15, 2021

After going in front through their and Zas's first try, the Stormers got themselves quickly back into Dragons territory and when they were awarded another penalty this time they elected to kick it and Manie Libbok made no mistake to make it a seven point lead with 10 minutes to go.

The Dragons put in a last ditch attempt to at least draw the game but the Stormers’ defence had been excellent all night and they held firm.

The Dragons had an attacking scrum with two minutes to go but the Stormers unit put them under pressure, the ball came out the side and Zas kicked it through from inside his own 22 into the opposition 22.

The Dragons made a hash of their attempt to get back and gather the ball and it came free and Zas picked it up and went over under the posts for the try that, with just one minute to go, made the game safe for the visitors.

Although Libbok was jeered by the crowd, as he had been all night by the Rodney Parade crowd, he took his time and kicked the conversion to complete a comprehensive win for the Stormers that ensures they head home with seven log points from one win, one draw and a bonus point.

NEL AND GELANT STAND OUT

The Dragons had their moments and as Stormers coach John Dobson pointed out afterwards they were hugely physical, but the Stormers deserved their win as the Dragons effectively scored all their points only in the 10 minute period in the first half where the Stormers were down to 14 men after skipper Salmaan Moerat was yellow carded for a high tackle.

It was one of those challenges that in a bygone era would have been seen as just another really good, strong hit but it nearly cost the Stormers dearly as the Dragons profited from their one man advantage.

The Stormers had taken a 3-0 lead from a Libbok penalty in the 16th minute after the Dragons had had most of the ball and territory but the Cape team had nonetheless sent out a few ominous warnings to their opponents at scrum time and their linespeed on defence always had the Dragons looking troubled.

When Moerat was banished in the 20th minute it allowed the Dragons to gather momentum and a good little nudge kick from flyhalf Sam Davis set up the first try of the match for Dragons fullback Josh Lewis.

Six minutes later Davis was on target with a penalty to make it 10-3 to the Dragons.

At that point it looked as though the Dragons might take control but once Moerat was back on the field the Stormers started to come back into the game.

Although the halftime statistics reflected that the Dragons had dominated the territory battle and commanded most of the possession, the Stormers managed to get their hands on the ball and into Dragons territory far more in the last 10 minutes of the first half.

In that time they managed to kick two more penalties through Libbok to ensure there was nothing in it at halftime, something that their defensive stand-outs, such as Ruhan Nel, can take a bow for.

So too could Gelant, who was brilliant with his positional play, his line kicks and a constant threat when he did show up on attack.

Talking about attack, this wasn’t the Stormers’ best performance when it came to their much improved attacking game, and had they been more synchronised and fluid in that aspect of their game in the second half they might not have had to wait to the last two minutes before making the game safe.

But it was a good allround performance from the Stormers who played with huge commitment and determination and in the end thoroughly deserved the four points for their first ever win in the competition.

SCORES

DHL Stormers 24 - Tries: Leolin Zas 2; Conversion: Manie Libbok; Penalties: Manie Libbok 4.

Dragons 10 - Try: Josh Lewis, Conversion: Sam Davis; Penalty: Sam Davis.