Cape Town – Hacjivah Dayimani provided some sparkling moments, but it was fellow loose forward Junior Pokomela who saved the day with an injury-time bonus-point try as the Stormers huffed and puffed to a 34-14 Champions Cup win over London Irish at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night.
The champions of the United Rugby Championship will be glad that they have opened their account after last week’s defeat to Clermont in France, but coach John Dobson will not be pleased about their performance.
Despite dominating territory and possession, the Capetonians only had a 10-0 halftime lead to show for it, and even though they added two further touchdowns after the break, they were unable to secure a four-try bonus point until the final seconds of the game.
Dobson will hope that the display won’t be a sign of things to come as they prepare for next Friday’s URC showdown against the Bulls, as they had a number of chances to put the Exiles away.
But their biggest shortcoming was their handling, as they knocked the ball on several times inside the Irish half, while Joseph Dweba battled with his lineout-throwing throughout as the home side’s execution and option-taking with ball-in-hand let them down badly.
They started off well enough, as blindside flank Willie Engelbrecht charged over the line following a delightful little pop pass by captain Steven Kitshoff in the eighth minute.
Slick @theStormers handling on the back on a dominant pack before Willie Engelbrecht dives over for the opener 🙌
The hosts are winding it up in Cape Town, watch live on @btsportrugby, @beinsports_FR, @SuperSportTV and @FloRugby 📺#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ghuFUztZaa
But the rest of the first half turned into a lacklustre affair, with the home side unable to find any rhythm on attack.
There was one outstanding passage of play, with Man-of-the-Match Dayimani with a lovely offload to put Leolin Zas into a gap, and then the No 8 delivered the scoring offload to Salmaan Moerat – but it was ruled out as the first pass to Zas was forward.
The old one-two between the big men after a stunning @theStormers break but their second is chalked off by the TMO for a forward pass 😳
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
One of the greatest tries that never was? #HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/6TeRrP2hDn
Another opportunity saw the Stormers get within 10 metres of the whitewash, but then fullback Clayton Blommetjies produced an ill-advised grubber kick to hand possession over to Irish.
So error-strewn had the Stormers become that skipper Kitshoff opted for three points by Manie Libbok just before halftime instead of going for another lineout.
To make matters worse, centre Ruhan Nel went off injured with what looked like a right ankle or foot problem, which saw Junior Springbok Suleiman Hartzenberg introduced.
Things looked up for the Cape side when Dayimani – whose performance again raised questions about why he is not a Springbok yet – raced away to dot down after Zas had gathered a loose ball from Libbok’s up-and-under.
Another smooth @thestormers attack from their own 22 and this one stands 🏉
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
The gas from Hacjivah Dayimani too 🙌#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/DXADldimCt
The Stormers No 8 was again involved in the third try a few minutes later with a terrific line-break, and scrumhalf Paul de Wet fed a flying Zas, who had enough strength to go all the way.
But No 4 lock Moerat’s unfortunate knee injury – as he contested a lineout and fell awkwardly – seemed to take some bite out of the Stormers’ defence, and London Irish came surging back.
Dayimani is on fire 🔥
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 17, 2022
Coast-to-coast rugby from @thestormers and Leolin Zas powers over for the hosts’ third try 🏉#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/adsWaKfGNj
South African hooker Mike Willemse kick-started the comeback for the visitors with a maul try, and they nearly had a second when replacement scrumhalf Ben White crossed the line, but lost the ball as he went over in a superb tackle by Angelo Davids.
The Exiles’ fullback Ben Loader also made some exciting runs that stretched the opposition’s defence, and their determination was rewarded when replacement Will Joseph danced past several tacklers to score.
Those feet 🕺
Stepping and slaloming past five defenders, @londonirish’s Will Joseph scores a memorable try to apply some pressure on the hosts 🏉#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/Vgj0EqXLrz
Joseph almost made it a double four minutes later, but his effort was ruled out due to a push on Hartzenberg.
The Stormers, though, managed to make their way upfield for one last push, and it was Pokomela who held his nerve to grab the bonus point from a maul.
Points-Scorers
Stormers 34 – Tries: Willie Engelbrecht, Hacjivah Dayimani, Leolin Zas, Junior Pokomela. Conversions: Manie Libbok (4). Penalties: Libbok (2).
London Irish 14 – Tries: Mike Willemse, Will Joseph. Conversions: Paddy Jackson (2).