Stormers cruise to victory over Sharks

.

Pa Sport Staff
Saturday 04 February 2023 14:10 GMT

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Stormers cut the gap on United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster with a dominating six-try 46-19 victory over the Sharks.

With the five points gained, they now trail the Irish province by 11 points while the Sharks remain in the final play-off place in eighth.

Herschel Jantjies, Ruben van Heerden, Joseph Dweba, Seabelo Senatla, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Manie Libbok crossed for tries for the Stormers, with Libbok adding a further 14 points with the boot and Clayton Blommetjies two.

Gerbrandt Grobler scored a pair of tries for the hosts, with Dan Jooste also crossing and Curwin Bosch converting two.

The Stormers made a lightning start with the opening try in the second minute when fly-half Libbok broke the line and drew his man before flipping to Jantjies to run in for an easy score under the posts and Blommetjies added the extras.

Van Heerden then took an inside pass before bulldozing through the defensive line to power over and put the Stormers 14-0 up after 18 minutes.

The Stormers’ dominance continued when Dweba went over from the back of a maul before the Sharks finally got on the board two minutes before the break when Grobler broke through two tackles to go in under the posts.

It only took a minute after the restart for the Stormers to claim the bonus-point try. A long cut-out pass from a maul found Senatla in acres of space on the left wing to coast in for a try.

Senatla was the architect as Stormers went in for a fifth try, latching onto his own kick ahead before laying off to Hartzenberg to coast in.

Poor handling in the backs from the Sharks allowed Libbok to pounce on the loose ball and sprint clear for the easiest of tries under the sticks.

The Sharks salvaged some pride as Jooste and Grobler claimed late tries.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in