URC: Stormers 35 Leinster 0
Leinster endured a chastening experience, and not for the first time in Cape Town, as the Stormers racked up a fourth win in five matches between the sides in the United Rugby Championship. The South African side’s physical ascendancy in the scrum, the collisions, in the tackle, on the gain-line and in the lineout underpinned that superiority.
What will be even more concerning on a bleak evening for the Irish province is that it could have been worse had the Stormers not thrown away a hatful of points in the first half. Leinster’s scrum and lineout were dismantled and without that platform and any facility to go forward they were invariably coerced into kicking away the meagre possession they accumulated.
The only threat that the visitors mustered was in individual cameos by Tommy O’Brien and Jordan Larmour but there was no snap, no subterfuge and ultimately no penetration. Leinster looked conspicuously lightweight at times, which doesn’t augur well for next week’s trip to face the Bulls at altitude in Pretoria.
Quite how the Irish province were just six points adrift at the interval was a minor miracle, given their set-piece issues, ill-discipline – they conceded eight penalties in the first half including six on the trot and a whopping 16 by match-end – and some shockingly wayward passing that could have seen them concede tries on a couple of occasions.
Stormers outhalf Jurie Matthee missed two penalties and the home side had a try by Paul de Villiers disallowed after secondrow Adré Smith was pinged for obstruction in setting up the lineout maul. An element of ring-rust was to be expected in the opening game of the season, but Leinster abused that notion with a disjointed and careless opening 40-minutes.
Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster catches the ball ahead of Seabelo Senatla of the Stormers. Photograph: EJ Langner/Inpho/Steve Haag Sports
They didn’t get the balance of kicking and running right, they were dominated physically in the collisions, the scrum and on the gainline, and because they lacked a platform out of touch could not sustain any pressure territorially.
Leinster lived off scraps but without the momentum of quick ball were forced to put boot to ball and while Sam Prendergast, with a 50:22 kick and Luke McGrath, with a chip that Ciarán Frawley collected, had some joy, it was fleeting. McGrath and Frawley were both relieved that misplaced passes didn’t ultimately cost their team points.
Whatever was said at half-time in the visiting dressingroom it didn’t have the desired effect; the kick-off didn’t go the required distance, Jimmy O’Brien then dropped a resultant high ball, Leinster conceded a ninth penalty, which Matthee kicked and then 180 seconds later conceded a soft try.
Prendergast had a cross-kick touched in flight. Seabelo Senatla, the game’s outstanding attacking force, grabbed the loose ball, slalomed through several tackles and Stefan Ungerer was on hand to dot down under the posts despite the best efforts of Tommy O’Brien and Lamour. Matthee’s conversion took the home side out to a 16-0 lead they thoroughly deserved on the balance of play.
A scrum penalty, swiftly followed by another lineout error prompted Leo Cullen to summon John McKee, Paddy McCarthy, Max Deegan and Will Connors from the bench.
Tommy O’Brien’s break offered a brief moment of promise, but it petered out when the wing decided to pass rather than taking on Matthee on the outside as the last defender.
Tommy O’Brien and Max Deegan of Leinster in the sin bin after receiving yellow cards. Photograph: EJ Langner/Inpho/Steve Haag Sports
Rabah Slimani was penalised in the scrum for the third and then the fourth time in the match in quick succession. Andrew Sparrow was summoned for his debut soon after.
Matthee missed another long-range penalty but from the second offence they went to the corner. Deegan received a yellow card. The Stormers went to the corner again and this time there was no respite, Evan Roos drove over for a try, which Matthee converted.
It got worse for the visitors, another yellow card, this time for Tommy O’Brien was the preamble to the Stormers’ third try; another lineout maul against the 13-man visitors finished by Ruan Ackermann on debut.
Matthee kicked the conversion and on 70 minutes the outhalf scored the bonus-point try against a Leinster side that were short-handed and in complete disarray. It’s going to be a tough week. There are plenty of lessons to absorb and possibly a few home truths too.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 6 mins: Matthee pen, 3-0; 31: Matthee pen, 6-0. Half-time: 6-0. 41: Matthee pen, 9-0; 44: Ungerer try, Matthee con, 16-0; 62: Roos try, Matthee con, 23-0; 67: Ackermann try, Matthee con, 31-0; 70: Matthee try, 35-0.
STORMERS: W Simelane; S Senatla, R Nel (capt), D du Plessis, L Zas; J Matthee, S Ungerer; V Matongo, A-H Venter, N Fouché; A Smith, JD Schickerling; P de Villiers, B-Jason Dixon, E Roos.
Replacements: M Theunissen for Smith, R Ackermann for de Villiers (both 52 mins); D Duvenage for Ungerer (56); JJ Kotze for Venter, R van Heerden for Schickerling (both 57); O Reid for Matongo, Z Porthen for Fouché (63); C Swart for Du Plessis (66).
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, R Henshaw, C Frawley, J Larmour; S Prendergast, L McGrath (capt); J Boyle, G McCarthy, R Slimani; D Mangan, B Deeny; R Baird, S Penny, J Culhane.
Replacements: M Deegan for Deeny, W Connors for Culhane, J McKee for Gus McCarthy, P McCarthy for Boyle (all 52 mins); F Gunne for McGrath, H Byrne for Prendergast (both 59); A Sparrow for Slimani (63); H Cooney for Frawley (71).
Yellow cards: M Deegan (62 mins); T O’Brien (67).
Referee: G Gnecchi (Italy).