Stormers are storming ahead

DHL Stormers celebrate first win at Thomond Park. Inpho Photography

There is now just one unbeaten team left in the United Rugby Championship with the DHL Stormers having taken the spoils in an epic top-of-of-the-table clash with Munster Rugby.

Both teams had won their opening five league matches, so something had to give at Limerick’s Thomond Park.

It looked as though Munster were going to capitalise on home advantage when they led 21-6 at half-time after running in three tries.

But the Stormers racked up 21 unanswered points after the break to win 27-21.

The game finished three tries apiece but it was the goal-kicking of the league’s top points scorer Jurie Matthee that ultimately proved the difference.

The Player of the Match award went to the visitors’ flanker Paul de Villiers who said: “We knew we were going to be tested. Playing Munster in Limerick is a massive challenge.

“Being behind, we had to really dig deep and fight back. There were a few things that hadn’t gone our way but the way we reacted to it and responded in that second half, hats off to the team.

“I read a quote before the game of someone saying ‘I believe in belief’ and I think that’s what we had and showed. Even though it was tough at times, that belief really came through. It was surely a team effort.

“It’s good for us building and for the rest of the season.”

It’s a win that puts John Dobson’s Stormers two points clear at the top of the table a third of the way through the regular season.

Cardiff Rugby are now up to second place having made it five wins out of six with 29-14 bonus point victory over Zebre Parma out in Italy, where hooker Daf Hughes scored a first-half hat-trick of line-out drive tries.

There were a couple of surprise results, with the Lions beating the Vodacom Bulls 43-33 in Pretoria, while the previously pointless Scarlets defeated Glasgow Warriors 23-0.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Connacht Rugby thumped the Hollywoodbets Sharks 44-17 in Galway and Edinburgh Rugby claimed a narrow 19-17 victory over the depleted but brave Ospreys.

As for the two games on Friday night, they saw both Ulster Rugby and Leinster Rugby turn around half-time deficits to claim bonus point wins.

Trailing 13-12 to Benetton Rugby at the break in Belfast, Ulster then scored 35 unanswered points with wingers Rob Baloucoune and Werner Kok completing try doubles.

It’s a seven-try triumph which has taken Ulster up to fourth in the league table.

Their head coach Richie Murphy said: “I’m massively pleased.

“To come in one point down at half-time was a bit disappointing but the guys regrouped really well. We kept doing what we were doing and the pressure paid off in the end.

“Once we got into our flow, I thought we looked really good. It was a very satisfying five points.”

Ireland flanker Nick Timoney added: “It was incredibly enjoyable. There’s nothing like a Friday night at home for us. We love them.

“It was a tough first half. We got a bit frustrated and went in a point down. But we knew if we could keep the ball a bit better and keep our discipline that it was going to come for us and thankfully it did. We enjoyed ourselves in the second half and were happy with how we played.”

Meanwhile, champions Leinster came from 7-5 down at the interval to beat Dragons RFC 24-10 at Rodney Parade, with Springbok second row RG Snyman scoring the late bonus point try to cap a huge impact off the bench.

However, head coach Leo Cullen was far from happy with the overall team display.

“We are hugely frustrated with the performance,” he said.

“It was a great outcome for us to come away with a bonus point win but we made very hard work of it at times.

“A lot of that was down to the Dragons, they came strong at us the whole game but a lot of it was in our control. We gave away a lot of penalties, we gave up a couple of yellow cards and there were multiple chances that we wasted, so we just made life really difficult for ourselves. It’s really frustrating from our point of view.”

Leinster skipper Max Deegan added: “It wasn’t picture perfect.

“The conditions were tough and the Dragons are a really proud bunch of players, so we always knew it was going to be a challenge but we definitely made life hard for ourselves.

“We gave away too many penalties. That was definitely below Leinster standards. That’s not good enough. It just needs to be better.”

Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel has revealed how an honest review paved the way for a memorable victory over high-flying Glasgow.

The west Wales region had failed to pick up a single point in losing their first four URC fixtures, leaving them bottom of the table.

In contrast, Glasgow had won four of their opening five games to stand in third place.

But, despite being depleted by having five backs away on Wales duty, the Scarlets tore up the form book to claim their first victory of the season.

There were tries from flanker Josh Macleod and centre Macs Page, plus some real heroics in defence to keep Glasgow scoreless in the Llanelli rain.

Delighted head coach Peel said: “It feels great. We were quite honest in our review of the first block. We had a lot of work to do and we have worked hard over the last couple of weeks.

“I'm happy for everyone because we obviously haven't had the best start to the season.

“I thought we did the basics well. We kicked well, we chased well, we turned ball over and we took points when we needed to. Scoreboard pressure is huge in those conditions. You don’t want to be points down chasing the game because it’s difficult to move the ball.

“I am pleased for the boys because they have given a lot of hard work. I am really happy with the performance and the win. It’s a good start to a really exciting block.”

Skipper Macleod said: “I asked for a level of intensity. We knew it was going to be won on defence and I think nil on the scoreboard is a pretty decent success.

“We knew as forwards we had to step up and we felt a bit of dominance up front.

“Hopefully this is the building block - nil on the scoreboard and some decent tries. Overall we are just very, very happy to get the win. It’s a pretty decent foundation moving into an exciting block.”

There was also a win for fellow Welsh side Cardiff who beat Zebre out in northern Italy to take them to the giddy heights of second in the table.

Hughes scored a first half hat-trick and then replacement flanker Taine Basham stepped his way over to seal the bonus point in the final play of the game.

Head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “Zebre are a tough team to beat, so we will definitely take it. I am happy for the boys to get it over the line.

“We had to dig deep and the boys did it, so I am very proud of them.”

Hat-trick hero Hughes, who was named Player of the Match, added his thoughts on a win achieved without 10 Wales squad members.

“It’s a tough place to come. Your pack really needs to be on fire to take a win and we were. To come out here and get five points is massive,” he said.

“We found out last year that there’s one or two points in it to be in the top eight. If we keep our heads down and go game by game, we can put ourselves in a good spot come the end of the season.”

The focus switches to EPCR action for the next two weeks, with the 16 URC sides involved in the Investec Champions Cup or Challenge Cup.

Then the league resumes with Round 7 on the weekend before Christmas with six of the eight matches being derbies.

The table-topping Stormers will host the Lions in Cape Town, while second-placed Cardiff entertain the Scarlets at the Arms Park.