Cape Town - Connacht produced a strong final-quarter performance to sink the Stormers 19-17 in their United Rugby Championship clash in Galway on Saturday.
The Stormers were forced to change things up before kick-off after Dan du Plessis was withdrawn from the match due to delayed post-concussion syndrome, with Damian Willemse, initially named at fullback, shifting to inside centre and Sergeal Petersen moving to 15.
Angelo Davids came into the starting line-up on the wing, while Cornal Smit took his spot on the bench.
It was a massively disappointing defeat for the South African side. It was a game they could have taken, but their efforts weren’t made any easier by a referee that appeared intent on finding errors in the South Africans’ play.
⚡️ @THESTORMERS strike first with some really good hands ⚡️#URC | #CONvSTO pic.twitter.com/XK7Z2H9PvI
— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) February 26, 2022
Despite the referee’s hand going the way of the hosts at the scrum a few times early in the encounter, the Stormers’ set-pieces overall functioned well, with their maul particularly impressive.
Their defence was an absolute beauty in the opening half and it ensured that spirited attempts by Connacht - who enjoyed more possession and territory before the break - amounted to nothing in the opening quarter.
The men in blue produced some stunning defensive displays as they hit the Irish hard, kept them behind the gain line, and sprinkled that outstanding defensive performance with a few solid spot tackles.
The hosts did, however, manage to get a try in the 30th minute after bashing it up through their forwards.
The visitors got the first try after beautifully controlling play and working the ball through the hands with a few short passes between the forwards, before they sent it out wide to the backs to finish, with Petersen going over for an unconverted try.
What made the try even more impressive was the fact that, prior to that, John Dobson’s men had played an almost purely-defensive role, but when they got into the 22, they were clinical and properly made use of their opportunity.
Damian Willemse pace is unmatched ⚡️#URC | #CONvSTO pic.twitter.com/CSTEe10CIZ
— United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) February 26, 2022
The Stormers regained the lead after some brilliant work by Peresen and Willemse just before the break
After coming into possession of the oval out wide, Petersen did well to boot the ball ahead and regather despite some defensive pressure before offloading to Willemse, who powered through a gang of defenders to crash over for a top try.
The Stormers added their third try, this time converted, in stunning fashion.
With Connacht on the attack steadily working towards opposition 22, Libbok pounced on a knock-on and turned on the gas as he cut through Connacht and out-paced two chasing defenders to score. He made no mistake with the conversion.
After a scrappy period of play from both sides, the Stormers were reduced to 14 men after a deliberate knock-on saw Petersen sent to the sin bin.
2️⃣ monstrous offloads, 1️⃣ great beauty
How good is this from @connachtrugby? 👀#URC | #CONvSTO pic.twitter.com/aanOodQnk9
It didn’t take the hosts long to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
They scored what could be classed the try of the match as they went offload-crazy and worked the ball up beautifully, with Tom Daly going over for their second converted try.
The Stormers were shown another yellow after a high tackle by Ruhan Nel, and Connacht again took advantage as they scored another well-worked try through Pete Sullivan to take a 19-17 lead in the last 10 minutes. It was a call that could have gone either way, however, as it wasn’t clear whether Sullivan actually had control over the ball.
While the Stormers ended the game strongly, it wasn’t enough to come back and claim the victory.
Point scorers:
Connacht 19 (7) - Tries: Paul Boyle, Tom Daly, Pete Sullivan. Conversions: Conor Fitzgerald (2),
Stormers 17 (10) - Tries: Sergeal Petersen, Damian Willemse, Manie Libbok. Conversion: Libbok. Yellow card: Petersen, Ruhan Nel.