It was a welcome return to some pragmatic but also scintillating rugby by the DHL Stormers in what appeared to be an easy 56-05 victory against Benetton at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, as they scored an impressive seven tries to one by the Italians.
Springbok Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was in fine form once again, scoring 26 points as he ran the show with ease, slotting six conversions and two penalty goals, to add to a drop goal and a fantastic try in the final minute of the match.
It was one-way traffic from the outset as the home side led 23-o0 after 20 minutes, thanks to tries by Sazi Sandi and Dan du Plessis to add to two conversions, two penalty goals and a drop goal by Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Capetonians added their third try in the 32nd minute by Seabelo Senatla, and the successful conversion saw them take a 30-0 lead, which reduced the pressure on them despite Sandi receiving a yellow card minutes before halftime due to repeated scrum infringements.
The visitors hit back with a try by Jacob Umaga immediately after the break, but this proved to be their only points of the match as the DHL Stormers kept attacking at will, which saw Marcel Theunissen, Leolin Zas, Paul de Villiers and Feinberg-Mngomezulu add further tries in a one-sided second half in which both teams received yellow cards, which saw the Cape side walk away with the rewarding 56-5 victory.
With matches against the Dragons and Cardiff at home remaining, the DHL Stormers will certainly back themselves to book a quarter-final berth in the coming weeks.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers: Tries: Sazi Sandi, Dan du Plessis, Seabelo Senatla, Marcel Theunissen, Leolin Zas, Paul de Villiers, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (6). Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Drop goal: Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Benetton Rugby: Try: Jacob Umaga.
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Brok Harris, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Connor Evans, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Benetton Rugby: 15 Leonardo Marin, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Alessandro Garbisi, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 1 Thomas Gallo. Replacements: 16 Siua Maile, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Giosué Zilocchi, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Eli Snyman, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Andy Uren, 23 Rhyno Smith.