Stormers assistant coach Paul Feeney has praised flyhalf Damian Willemse for his performance in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The 19-year-old impressed in his first Super Rugby start for the Stormers in their 40-34 win against the Cheetahs.

Willemse ran in a memorable try that saw him break away from inside his half, pass to Rynhardt Elstadt and then take the flanker’s inside pass to score. He also kicked well out of hand.

‘It’s great he got a try,’ said Feeney. ‘It was a good little gap he spotted and he stayed in support on the inside.

‘He also kicked very well for the sideline – three or four times off penalties his kicking for the sideline carved off at least 40m‚ without much of an angle to work with.

‘Our last try from the lineout when we were down 33-34‚ he put that ball within 10 metres of the tryline from halfway.

‘He made a few mistakes, but I expected him to make some.

WATCH: Highlights of Cheetahs vs Stormers

‘He has been given the opportunity and he would have been very nervous last Saturday. I am expecting him to play better again this week.

‘But it is all about the video analyses so he can learn‚ how he is making his decisions and where he is looking, at his age. As we all know, it is all about experience.

‘Every minute he gets at this level the better he is going to get over the next while. As a coaching group‚ we were very pleased with his [run-on] debut.’

Willemse is sure to have plenty of attacking opportunities at Newlands on Saturday when the Stormers face the Sunwolves, who were thrashed 94-7 at Ellis Park last weekend.

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images