After their 13-8 vicory in their United Rugby Championship clash against the Bulls at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town, here’s how the Stormers players performed on Saturday.
Stormers player ratings v Bulls
15 Warrick Gelant: The Springboks full-back was solid under the high ball and looked dangerous when he joined the line on attack from the back. 6
14 Suleiman Hartzenberg: Returned to the run-on side but had few attacking opportunities and was restricted mostly to defensive duties. Had one fine attacking run late on but stopped deep inside the Bulls‘ 22. 5
13 Wandisile Simelane: Another player who did not have many chances on attack although he will be kicking himself after knocking on with the try-line at his mercy late on. 5
12 Damian Willemse: The Springboks star hit the ground running upon his return to action after injury and showed his class with his playmaking ability throughout. Despite that, he was kept in check by the Bulls defence but he also came to the fore with an impressive defensive display. 6
11 Leolin Zas: Like the rest of the outside backs, he saw little ball on attack but the flyer competed bravely under the high ball and did what was expected of him on defence. 6
10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: As expected, the Springboks playmaker was the man who led the Stormers’ attack but, like Willemse, he was closely watched by the Bulls’ defence. Despite that he took the fight to his opponents with several attacking runs, although he made numerous mistakes with two of those being missed kicks for touch after his side were awarded penalties. 5
9 Cobus Reinach: The veteran scrum-half was involved in an interesting individual duel with Embrose Papier, who was named the official man of the match. Although he tried hard, Reinach made some crucial errors especially concerning his decision making but it did not prove too costly. Also asked some questions of the Bulls defence before being replaced by Stefan Ungerer in the 70th minute. 6
8 Evan Roos: Continued his fine form as he put in a solid all-round performance for the full 80 minutes. Roos’ impressive ball carrying was rewarded with a customary try while he also did his bit on defence. 7
7 Ben-Jason Dixon: The Springboks loose forward did his bit at the lineouts, was solid in the execution of his core duties although he was less influential with ball in hand. 6
6 Ruan Ackermann: The experienced back-row brought plenty of physicality to the cause during the early stages but was not very effective at the breakdowns and was yanked off in the 46th minute with Paul de Villiers coming on in his place. 5
5 JD Schickerling: The experienced second-row caught the eye with an outstanding all-round display as he was superb in the lineouts, where he was a valuable source of possession, and also put in a big defensive shift and cleaned out the rucks with great intensity. Was replaced by Ruben van Heerden in the final quarter. 8
4 Salmaan Moerat (c): The Stormers skipper toiled manfully and did what was expected in the execution of his core duties but was bumped off by Handre Pollard en route to the opening try. Moerat made little impact elsewhere and was eventually replaced early in the second half. 4
3 Neethling Fouche: The Stormers centurion stood up well in his direct duel with fellow Springbok Gerhard Steenekamp and did his bit as a ball carrier andon defence before Sazi Sandi replaced him after 64 minutes. 6