Stormers Grind Out Victory Over Dragons To Cement Second Place 

The DHL Stormers picked up their fifth successive victory over the Dragons and cemented second place following their 29-21 victory in the United Rugby Championship encounter at the DHL Stadium on Sunday. 

Having previously played the Dragons four times and beaten them on each occasion – putting forty points past them in their last two encounters – there was reason for optimism in the Stormers camp and among the faithful as the game had an unconventional Sunday afternoon kickoff. 

Matters began slowly for the Stormers until the ninth minute when a sharp Imad Khan pass picked up Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu with a sniping run into space to dot down the first points of the game.

With the conversion slotted by the try scorer, the Stormers went into a 7-0 lead.

With the Stormers continuously knocking on the Dragon’s door, the 17th minute gave rise to the next scoring sequence, as the Khan-Feinberg-Mngomezulu combination came to fruition once more – with Khan picking up a loose ball from the back of an attacking Stormers maul to play in Feinberg-Mngomezulu with a wonderful back-of-the-hand pass on the blindside for the flyhalf’s second try of the day.

Once again, Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras from his boot, increasing the lead to 14-0.

Just as it appeared that the Stormers would pull away following their dominance, the game turned into a scrappy affair, something that suited the Welsh. 

The Dragons got on the scoresheet somewhat fortuitously after a Stormers attack went wrong, allowing the Welsh side to launch a counterattack. 

After getting some territory, and from an attacking lineout, it was lock Seb Davies who ran the gap in the Stormers’ defence to dot down in the 25th minute with Angus O’Brien slotting the subsequent conversion.

Stormers hearts were firmly lodged in their throats as a Feinberg-Mngomezulu misjudgement on the line allowed the Dragons to show off their football skills, keeping the ball in play, only for the star flyhalf to make amends with a desperation, try-saving tackle, just short of the line. 

The half-time whistle came at a moment when the Dragons were threatening to score again as the Stormers needed to regroup urgently, holding a slender lead after a strong start.

HALF TIME: STORMERS 14- 7 DRAGONS RFC

The Stormers drew first blood in the second half when the Dragons were penalised for not releasing at the ruck, allowing Feinberg-Mngomezulu to add a further three points to his and the team’s tally. 

The Stormers displayed their full strength and brute force in the 50th minute as they dominated a scrum on a Dragons put-in, allowing Evan Roos to pick up and crash over the try line.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no mistake with the conversion attempt to increase the Stormers’ lead to 17, with the scoreboard reflecting a 24-7 scoreline.

The Dragons were not to be deterred, though, as a 53rd-minute Thomas Young try kept them in the game – ably converted by O’Brien, reducing the deficit by ten, 24-14.

The Stormers pulled away further in the 59th minute as Wandisile Simelane created something out of nothing. With little space to work with, he put through a grubber to turn the Dragons’ defence and put them on the back foot – fortunately, the ball bounced in his favour as he continued to chase his own kick, allowing him to dot down to his sheer delight.

A slip by Feinberg-Mngomezulu resulted in the conversion attempt going wide, but the lead increased, 29-14. 

There was a superb piece of defending by Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the 70th minute as Rio Dyer caught an awkward ball expertly, dinked it over the Stormers flyhalf, ran onto his kick and touched down acrobatically – only for replays to show that the Stormers talisman got the touch on the dot down to force a drop out.

Two minutes later, Dyer was not to be denied again as he took a short pass on the inside to run in for a try unopposed. O’Brien made no mistake with the simple conversion as the Dragons refused to give up – further reducing the deficit to eight points. 

The Stormers enjoyed one final sojourn in the Dragons half and stopped just shy of the try line on the cusp of full-time as they braced the Dragons onslaught and never-say-die attitude to send the Cape Town faithful home happy with the victory.