Rugby
Victory for the Stormers in the Shark Tank─── KAYLA BARKER 19:29 Sat, 04 Feb 2023
The Stormers made a comeback this week with a win over the Sharks in Durban Sunday 4 February 2023. The Sharks and the Stormers went head to head in their URC clash at Kings Park and the game ended in a 46-19 victory to the visitors.
Last week the Stormers suffered a disappointing 35-5 loss to Ulster in Belfast and entered today's game with determination to make a comeback. Six tries later, this is exactly what the visiting side did as they fought their way to victory.
The Sharks defence line was broken early with the first try being scored in the 1st minute by Herschel Jantjies, followed by a conversion from Clayton Blommetjies. The entire first half was dominated by the Stormers seeing 3 tries, 3 conversions and a penalty goal by Manie Libbok.
Ruben van Heerden, former Sharks lock, made his debut for the Stormers and secured his first try for the side by running over Hyron Andrews in the 17th minute.
Gerbrandt Grobler, Sharks lock, landed the first try for the home team in the 38th minute bringing the half time score to 24 - 7 after Curwin Bosch converted.
The second half of the game again saw early domination from the Stormers with Seabelo Senatla dotting down in the 41st minute as he made his return from injury. With a try from Sulieman Hartzenberg and conversions from Manie Libbok, as well as a 57th minute try from Libbok, the Stormers climbed their way to a 46-19 win.
The Sharks have managed to secure wins over the Bulls and Lions and went into their URC rescheduled first-round match wary of complacency. Unfortunately for them, even after coming back from a win in Scotland, the Sharks were thumped by the Stormers.
For the Stormers, coming back from their 35-5 loss against Ulster, this was a welcome comeback that places them 2nd on the URC log and the top South African side in the competition with 50 points, 10 points above the 2nd South African side and 4th overall placed Bulls. The Sharks are currently in 8th with 33 points.
Try Scorers:
Stormers
Tries: Herschel Jantjies, Ruben van Heerden, Joseph Dweba, Seabelo Senatla, Sulieman Hartzenberg and Manie Libbok
Conversions: Clayton Blommetjies and Manie Libbok 4
Penalties: Manie Libbok 2
Sharks
Tries: Gerbrandt Grobler 2 and Dan Jooste
Conversions: Curwin Bosch 2
Kayla Barker/OFM Sport
