After a error riddled first half that saw them lead 6-0 at the break, the Stormers kicked into high gear in the second half, scoring 29 more points.
A monstrous performance from the Stormers forward pack powered them to a brilliant 35-0 bonus point thrashing of defending champions Leinster in the opening United Rugby Championship (URC) match of the season at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday night.
It was a forward driven performance as the Stormers won a slew of scrum penalties throughout, while their maul was also in solid form, leading to two tries, and although a few errors meant the hosts only led 6-0 at halftime, they turned it on in the second half running in four tries.
It is thus the perfect start for the 2021-22 URC champs with a full house of points and a shutout over a dangerous team, even without a number of their star players, and the Stormers will take plenty of confidence from this result.
Dominant start
Early in the first half the Stormers set the tone, dominating the first 15 minutes, and it was a monster scrum on Leinster’s ball in the sixth minute that gave them the penalty that allowed flyhalf Jurie Mathee to give them the lead, knocking it over.
Mathee had two more chances to extend their lead, a massive attempt from 55m in his own half, and a tricky one from the sideline, but missed both as it remained 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Stormers then thought they had scored in the 25th minute, as flank Paul de Villiers swivelled over off the back of a maul, but the TMO called down and the ref made a contentious call, saying there was obstruction in the maul, even though it looked like it was initiated by a Leinster player.
They finally extended their lead in the 31st minute, Mathee knocking over their second penalty, and they took that 6-0 lead into the halftime break, despite fullback Wandisile Simelane thinking he had scored, but the ref had picked up a forward pass in the move.
Blitz second half
A blitz start to the second half led to the Stormers moving into a 16-0 lead after 43 minutes, with Mathee slotting a third penalty just after the restart.
They then got their first try, as they seized on mistake from Leinster after a poor cross kick, wing Seabelo Senatla picked up and broke into the 22m and offloaded to scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer to get over for the converted score.
As the match wore on Leinster’s discipline started fail and they were accordingly punished by a strong final 20 minutes from the hosts.
First replacement flank Max Deegan was yellow carded in the 62nd minute after hands in the ruck in the red zone, with the Stormers kicking to the corner, setting the maul off the lineout and rumbling over for eighthman Evan Roos to dot down, converted by Mathee.
Three minutes later wing Tommy O’Brien was yellow carded for a high tackle on Senatla, with it cut and paste from the Stormers, kicking to the corner and mauling over for Roos to score his second, as they moved into a 30 point lead.
With a two player advantage the Stormers then sealed the bonus point with their fourth try in the 70th minute, and third in just seven, as Mathee received the ball in midfield, threw a dummy and stepped through to sprint away and score in the corner, sealing a fantastic result.
Scorers
Stormers: Tries – Stefan Ungerer, Evan Roos (2), Jurie Mathee; Conversions – Jurie Mathee (3); Penalties – Mathee (3)
