In a game where the phrase “coming back from the dead” was applicable to both teams at some points of a pulsating contest it was eventually Ulster who kept their Vodacom United Rugby Championship hopes alive with a 38-34 win over the DHL Stormers at the Kingspan Stadium.
Both teams took turns to gain the ascendancy, and then relinquish it.
It was though the Stormers who most conspired against themselves and they could well have won the game were it not for the silly and uncalled for charge on Ulster wing Rob Baloucoune, who didn’t have the ball as he’d just kicked it long before, from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu that saw him yellow carded.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is sent to the sin bin after this push 👀🟨
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 28, 2025
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From the lineout set up by the penalty, Ulster scored what ultimately proved a crucial score given the four point difference at the end.
That try gave Ulster a share of the spoils at halftime, 17-all, after they had been 17-0 down after just seven minutes.
Just moments before, before Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s brain fart, it was the Stormers pushing for a try that would have given them a telling lead of 10 to 12 points at the break.
In the time that Mngomezulu was off the field early in the second half, Damian Willemse was penalised on his line for an illegal turnout when, to be fair, the referee Andrea Pardi had no business playing advantage with the Stormers in possession near their own line.
What advantage was there to be had just five metres out and with the Ulster defence all over them.
FOUCHE RED CARD WAS QUESTIONABLE TO SAY THE LEAST
Let it be said that Pardi played as big a part too in the Stormers defeat as the Cape side’s rediscovered tendency to shoot themselves in their own feet.
His decision to red card Stormers captain Neethling Fouche, just short of the moment that Feinberg-Mngomezulu was due to come back onto the field, was bizarre.
Yes, the Ulster player was helped from the field after what was deemed an illegal tackle, but he went low into him and effectively ran into Fouche’s shoulder as the prop was dipping to make the tackle.
It goes from bad to worse for the Stormers 😬
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 28, 2025
Neethling Fouché sees red 🔴
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After that it became a helter-skelter game, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu dropping a goal within a minute of coming back onto the field to cut a seven point deficit back to four.
The change to the front-row caused by Fouche’s card didn’t impact the scrum dominance the Stormers enjoyed most of the game, but Ulster found their attacking game and space out wide to score a great try that put them 31-20 ahead.
STORMERS DID WELL TO STAY IN THE FIGHT
With the Stormers down to 14 men, that should have been it, and Stormers supporters would have been shifting uncomfortably at the prospect of a big defeat as Ulster had momentum, both on the field and on the scoreboard.
However, while you can’t excuse the stupidity that made life easier for Ulster, you have to give credit to the Stormers for their fight.
Replacement flank Willie Engelbrecht went in for a try near the posts, his team’s third, which with Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion made it a four point game again (31-27) with just over a quarter of an hour to play.
But then in dropped Ulster again, once again showing great attacking ability, for replacement Stuart Moore to score his team’s sixth try.
Again, Ulster looked like they had the game won and might press on to win by more.
But what did we say about this being a game where the phrase coming back from the dead was apt?
The Stormers scored with seven minutes to go through a second Evan Roos try after a series of pick and goes near the Ulster line at a stage when finally the numbers were even following an Ulster yellow card.
The Stormers, in scoring that fourth try, made sure of at least one bonus point, something that had seemed unlikely halfway through the second half.
And while they didn’t get along for the winner that they were working towards in the final minutes, losing by less than seven gave them another bonus point.
So ultimately, given that they return home from tour with seven log points and now have four home games in succession to come, the Stormers might have felt pleased with what they got out of the game.
Those two points in such a tightly contested race, and with that being their last home game, could be crucial when the final log positions are decided.
FURIOUS START
They would have been expecting much more than just two points though when they led 17-0 after just seven minutes.
Roos scored his first try bursting through a gap after just one minute and 40 seconds.
Through the defensive line to get the try 😮💨🔥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 28, 2025
Evan Roos starts the Stormers party in Belfast 🤝
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The Stormers, playing into a stiff breeze, then went into double figures with almost the next play as Feinberg-Mngomezulu put over the first of his two drop-goals.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s audition tape for @SpaceX 🚀🎯@Vodacom #URC | #ULSvSTO pic.twitter.com/lo3ysffjna
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 28, 2025
Not long after that wing Ben Loader pounced on a loose pass from Ulster and ran more than half the length of the field to score in the corner.
Ben Loader puts on the after-burners! #ULSvSTO #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/ioMdvwKGvQ
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) March 28, 2025
The Stormers were hugely dominant in the early scrums and so nearly had a third try but unfortunately the ball went forward and it looked like the Stormers were flying to the statement victory they were hoping for.
However, after that they conceded 17 points in the rest of the half without reply, and it was then that that bad old habit of playing against themselves set in.
The first Ulster try could be ascribed to what the Stormers coach John Dobson had admitted was a concern beforehand - the wind sometimes plays havoc it was the elements that undid fullback Damian Willemse as a ball flew over his head and he failed to make a decent effort.
From that field position Ulster had opportunity and they didn’t waste it, with wing Rob Balouncoune, returning from injury, marking his comeback with a try in the corner.
But the try on the halftime whistle to Jack Turner was a gift courtesy of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s error.
He didn’t need to play Balouncoune without the ball to save a try, a try wasn’t on because the Stormers had players back in cover.
That middle part of the match was what cost the Stormers what could have been three more log points, but on the balance of play Ulster were deserved winners and there were smiles from both teams afterwards.
From being 17 points down in the first half, @UlsterRugby delivered one of the best comebacks this season 🔥@Vodacom #URC | #ULSvSTO pic.twitter.com/33XPmMKv8U
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 28, 2025
Scores
Ulster 38 - Tries: Rob Baloucoune, Andrew Warwick, Jack Murphy, Jacob Stockdale, Zac Ward and Stewart Moore; Conversions: John Cooney 2, Jack Murphy and Nathan Doak.
DHL Stormers 34 - Tries: Evan Roos 2, Ben Loader and Willie Engelbrecht; Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 4; Drop-goals: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.