The DHL Stormers cruise to a comfortable 28-14 bonus-point win over 13-man London Irish in their Heineken Champions Cup clash in Brentford on Sunday afternoon.
The English club’s fullback Ben Loader got a red card for a head-on-head tackle on Manie Libbok after 17 minutes. This ended the afternoon of the DHL Stormers flyhalf too soon, and he also failed his head injury assessment.
The Capetonians scored three tries to take a 21-0 lead into halftime. Two minutes into the second half, replacement prop Ciaran Parker was shown a red card for a dangerous cleanout on Deon Fourie.
John Dobson must have been upset that his team didn’t make the most of their two-man advantage. They only added one more try to their total by kicking aimlessly and making forced passes, while the die-hard hosts scored two.
Still, the DHL Stormers got all five log points because they beat the Exiles again after beating them 34-14 at home in the previous round. This increased their chances of making it to the Round of 16.
They will play ASM Clermont Auvergne at DHL Stadium in the last round of the pool stage next weekend. They will be trying to get back at the French team for beating them 24-14 away in the first game of the tournament.
Stormers wing DHL Angelo Davids missed the first chance to score a try when he dropped Ruhan Nel’s pass after the outside center had charged down a kick and run upfield. This happened in the eighth minute.
Their forwards made sure that the visitors scored first in the 14th minute when Argentinian flank Juan Martin Gonzalez got a yellow card and a penalty try for breaking a strong driving maul.
After four minutes, Loader got a red card for his hit on Libbok. It happened after Nel made a great break and Davids finished it off. However, the try wasn’t counted because Libbok’s pass to his wing was in the wrong direction.
Nel took the spotlight again when he read the game perfectly to steal Rory Jennings’ pass and run in for a try. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who had replaced the injured Libbok, added the extra point.
Next, the young replacement flyhalf did something really good. He kicked a delicious dink off his left foot, which Suleiman Hartzenberg caught and then beat Lucio Cinti to give the away team a 21-point lead at halftime.
When Parker got a red card, things got even worse for London Irish. Davids finally got his try when Dan du Plessis gave him a hack-ahead.
The Exiles never gave up and were rewarded with a penalty try in the 50th minute when DHL Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff was given a yellow card for breaking up the maul and a second seven-pointer by Danilo Fischetti at the end.
Photo by Nigel French/PA Wire/PA Images/BackpagePix
