Sharks Do The Double Over Stormers

The Sharks completed a season double over the Stormers, handing them successive derby defeats in the URC with a 36–24 victory over the largely dominant home side at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.

Despite the talk of exacting revenge over the Sharks for last week’s defeat in Cape Town and the hurtful demeanours displayed, the Stormers succumbed to the Durban side for a second weekend in a row.

The Cape side seemed determined to respond after an off day against the Sharks last weekend that has improved invariably since the appointment of coach JP Pietersen. 

The Stormers kicked off like a proverbial house on fire, scoring on the 22-second mark after some brilliant work on the chase by Dylan Maart resulted in a Stormers penalty – taken quickly and scored by Springbok scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu failed to convert the conversion attempt.

From there on, the Sharks camped inside the Stormers 22 and in the ninth minute Paul de Villiers was sent to the sin-bin as the Cape Town side lived a charmed life on their try line.

The Stormers continued to infringe on the Sharks’ attack, and Grant Williams was determined not to be outdone by his Springbok teammate Cobus Reinach when he dotted down a deserved try for the home side.

Jordan Hendrikse made no mistake with the conversion as the Sharks took a 7-5 lead.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted penalties in the 16th and 20th minutes – one from a scrum infringement and the other when Siya Kolisi played the ball when not part of the ruck – to head into a four point lead – 11-7. 

The discipline of the Stormers was becoming a sore point – as the Sharks continued to enter the Stormers 22 with relative ease and after the fringe defence lost concentration, Ethan Hooker took advantage of the space to score the home side’s second try of the game in the 25th minute.

Hendrikse secured the extras with his trusty boot as the Durbanites took a 14-11 lead.

The Stormers lineout woes continued as another attacking lineout went awry in the 30th minute with Andre Hugo-Venter overshooting his mark.

Another messy lineout resulted in the bounce working in favour of the Stormers but Adre Smith’s try was disallowed as Neethling Fouche was adjudged to have obstructed the defenders, creating the gap for Smith to score.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu closed off the scoring in the first half by slotting two monstrous penalties – both in his own half – on the cusp of half-time to send the Stormers into the lead heading into half-time.

HALF-TIME: SHARKS 14-17 STORMERS

Like their opponents who scored early tries either side of half-time last week, it was the Stormers who reversed the roles this week, as a lovely pop pass from Fouche put De Villiers into space for a wonderful line breaking try.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu put over the conversion as the Stormers increased their lead to 24-14.

The Stormers’ discipline continued to let them down as the Sharks won a Stormers scrum and an infringement in the lead up to the Andre Esterhuizen try saw the Cape Town side reduced to 14 men again – Ruben Van Heerden sin-binned this time – with the score locked at 24-21. 

Like their sea-dwelling contemporaries the Sharks smelt blood resulting in Jaco Williams adding to his try last week and with Hendrikse making no mistake from the spot, the men in black took a four point lead, 28-24.

That sequence of play saw a 14 point shift as the Sharks went from a ten point deficit to a four point lead in a five minute period. 

The Sharks continued to dominate territory as the Stormers struggled to get out of their half and further increased their lead in the 69th minute when Hendrikse slotted a penalty.

In a moment of complete brain fade by replacement fullback Warrick Gelant – a speculative kick by Feinberg-Mngomezulu was countered by Jaco Williams – who chased down his kick in gutsy fashion and some nonchalant reactions to the situation, saw the Sharks winger put pressure on the ball before Gelant could touch down to effectively seal the match for the Durban side.

Hendrikse missed the conversion, but at this point, the result was sealed as the Sharks were victors, 36-24. 

The Stormers will head into the break licking their wounds and will want to get back to winning ways when they play the Lions once the URC resumes.