Following Stormers\u2019 39-26 win over Leicester Tigers at DHL Stadium, here are our five takeaways from Saturday\u2019s Pool Three clash in the Investec Champions Cup.<\/p>\n
The top line<\/p>\n
Stormers<\/a> bounced back from their horror show in London to qualify for the Round of 16 and leave two-time Champions Cup<\/a> champions Leicester<\/a> on the brink of elimination.<\/p>\n A game which started in Cape Town sunshine and finished in driving rain saw a makeshift Tigers side twice lead before being gifted a golden opportunity to win when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was yellow carded on 63 minutes.<\/p>\n At that point Stormers\u2019 boss John Dobson was staring at a loss which, in its own way, would have been as embarrassing as the 61-10 \u2018humiliation\u2019 at Harlequins last Sunday.<\/p>\n But late tries by replacements JD Schickerling and Imad Khan averted another disaster, earned Dobson\u2019s men a bonus point and, more than likely, home advantage in the knockout stages.<\/p>\n Unless Quins confound expectation and win away at La Rochelle on Sunday, the Capetonians will take second place behind Leinster, narrow winners at Bayonne, and return to the DHL Stadium for the next round.<\/p>\n Schickerling the hero<\/p>\n It was the stuff of dreams for JD Schickerling and a moment which back in August 2014 would have seemed impossible.<\/p>\n With 13 minutes left on the clock and Leicester pushing for the lead against 14-men, the big lock ran a support line 40 metres out and received the ball.<\/p>\n Twelve years ago, it would have been unthinkable. He was a teenager playing for Western Province Under-21s against the Bulls at Loftus and he broke two vertebrae in his neck.<\/p>\n Rushed to hospital, he underwent emergency surgery and was later told he came within 2mm of paralysis. Unsurprisingly, he was advised not to play rugby again.<\/p>\n Instead, he opted to have a plate inserted in his neck and after 16 months rehab, returned to the rugby field.<\/p>\n He has long since become an important piece in the Stormers jigsaw and when he took the pass with 67 minutes on the clock he further endeared himself to the home faithful.<\/p>\n Schickerling stretched his legs and ran into space. Two defenders quickly closed on him and it appeared they would either usher the 6\u20198 giant into touch or force a hasty decision.<\/p>\n Neither happened. The lock kept his head and shaped to pass to Dylan Maart outside him. That movement duped George Pearson, the Leicester full-back, and the carrier powered into the space he had made for himself to score.<\/p>\n The try not only earned Stormers a bonus point, it ended the contest as Leicester fell two scores behind.<\/p>\n Improvement after \u2018humiliation\u2019<\/p>\n This was not exactly the backlash many expected after Stormers conceded nine tries at Harlequins to lose for the first time this season.<\/p>\n With Leicester leaving their star names at home and Dobson going full metal jacket, most foresaw the sort of blowout we have seen too often across these pool stages.<\/p>\n Stormers did get back on the horse, capitalising on Will Hurd\u2019s fifth-minute yellow card to score early tries through Evan Roos and Andre-Hugo Venter. But theirs was an error-strewn performance.<\/p>\n Twice they trailed and had Billy Searle brought his kicking boots the result could well have been different. Ultimately, they needed to bolster their scrum in the second half and exploit an unexpected rainstorm to get the job done.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just feel we can do so much better,\u201d player of the match Paul de Villiers admitted. \u201cThere are still moments where we switch off a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Stormers player ratings: \u2018Serial\u2019 Man of the Match shines as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu struggles before bench \u2018saves\u2019 the day<\/a><\/p>\n Round of 16 has to go<\/p>\n When the European Cup competition was the envy of sport, every game mattered. There were six pools of four and only the pool winners plus two best runners-up advanced straight into the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n Adding a Round of 16 has chronically weakened the format. It is now too easy to qualify as one of four teams from each of the four pools. The upshot of that is teams focus on home wins and rarely go full bore on the road. Take Edinburgh at Bath on Friday night as the latest example. Pathetic.<\/p>\n Tigers were another case in point here. Those left at home included Freddie Steward, Adam Radwan, Jack van Poortvliet, Nicky Smith, Solomone Kata, Joe Heyes, Cam Henderson, Ollie Chessum and Tommy Reffell.<\/p>\n Yes, the understudies did remarkably well to get as close to the win as they did. And Searle will have nightmares about the penalty he fluffed in front of the sticks which would have put them five points up at half-time.<\/p>\n But the bottom line is Leicester lost the game and failed to muster a losing bonus point. England\u2019s biggest club, an organisation which has reached five European finals, winning two of them, will exit the tournament unless Quins can somehow deny La Rochelle a single point on Sunday.<\/p>\n Leicester player ratings: \u2018Real talent\u2019 gives Tigers hope before weak bench folds under Springbok\u2019s pressure<\/a><\/p>\n