By Lucky Vince Pienaar
➤ The red lights that were flickering for the Stormers last week went on to full brightness on Saturday when the men from Cape Town played Stade Francais in Paris.
John Dobson will have to find a way to get his players, all brilliant in their own right, to start playing for the team and stop showboating.
Although Hershel Jantjies scored a classic scrumhalf try, darting around on the blindside and Ruben van Heerden and Hendre Stassen scored dominant forward tries, it was a much closer match than it should have been.
The Stormers’ scrum was simply too powerful for Stade Francais and two quick yellow cards and uncontested scrums left the French team with 12 players against 15 for a few minutes.
Despite that, the Stormers won a narrow victory with a try for Manie Libbok in the last ten minutes giving them a four-point win.
The real takeaway from the Stormers’ match against Stade Francais is that the card system will have to undergo an urgent review.
Fortunately, the two-hour ordeal ended in a hollow victory for the Stormers as the last laughable 15 minutes took on the appearance of a circus show, complete with clowns running around arguing about the rules.
➤ In the end, the Sharks came away with a convincing win against the Dragons in terrible conditions at Rodney Parade in Newport, Wales. Particularly impressive was replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams who got his team onto the front foot with smart running, passing, and mostly his energy.
➤ Have the wheels come off for the Lions? While they scored some typically lovely tries, the gaps in their defence were just too wide and the Ospreys put them to the sword. Once again Sanele Nohamba was at scrumhalf. Perhaps he should move back to flyhalf. About 500 spectators (no more) in the 55,000-seater Ellis Park sure look lonely.
➤ Considering that the Cheetahs spent most of the match with 14 players after a red card, and sometimes with 13, they put up a brave show against Oyonnax. Particularly pleasing was an opportunistic try for Ruan Pienaar.
Despite battling the numerical disadvantage, the Cheetahs looked like winning literally up to the last minute when the French team scored the winning try under the posts.
➤ The Bulls, playing at home, eventually got the job done against Bordeaux Begles, but it wasn’t easy.
Both teams showed some weaknesses in defence but twelve excellent tries (six each) made for an engaging spectacle. Particularly pleasing were blackline tries for Devon Williams, Danie Kriel, Willie Le Roux and Embrose Papier. Captain Marcell Coetzee scored a brace.
Bordeaux’s six tries kept them in the match until the last five minutes.
Bulls (6 tries) 46-40 (6 tries) Bordeaux Begles
Stade Francais (3 tries) 24-20 (4 tries) Stormers
Oyonnax (4 tries) 28-27 (4 tries) Cheetahs
Lions (4 tries) 28-38 (5 tries) Ospreys
Dragons (0 tries) 9-29 (5 tries) Sharks
Pictured above: The Stormers.
Image source: X
