The DHL Stormers beat Connacht 34-29 in their Round 15 match of the United Rugby Championship in Cape Town. The outcome of the match was in the balance until the last seconds, when a "try" by Connacht was disallowed.
In a try fest of eight tries, the Stormers led 26-24 at the halftime break, both sides scoring four tries. Two tries were scored in the second half for a total of ten tries.
The Stormers started like a house on fire, and following great interplay and handling, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu dotted down and converted his try to extend the Stormers' lead to 07-00 after two minutes of play.
Connacht responded with a try of their own with a well-worked try out wide by winger Shane Jennings after six minutes of play.
Evan Roos attacked off the back of a scrum to bulldoze his way over the tryline to extend the Stormers' lead to 14-07 following the conversion of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Three missed tackles by the Stormers off the kick-off saw Conor Oliver crashing over the Stormers' tryline. Jack Carty's conversion levelled the scores at 14-14.
The great interplay between Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse led to Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's second try, after twenty minutes of play. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also converted, extending the Stormers' lead to 21-14.
The Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu show continued when he kicked a grubber to collect and score the Stormers' bonus point try and his third of the day, to lead 26-14 after twenty-five minutes of play.
The ding-dong battle continued when Dylan Tierney-Martin burst over the Stormers' tryline. Connacht trailed by 19-26 going into the second half. This was followed by their fourth try when Shane Jennings scored his second of the afternoon.
The Stormers led 26-24 at the halftime break.
The try madness continued, and thanks to great hands by the Stormers' backline who sent Suleiman Hartzenberg away to score in the corner, extending the Stormers' lead to 31-24 after seven minutes of play.
There was a noticeable drop in the pace of the match, and Connacht steadily built their attack. After twenty-six minutes of play, it was Josh Murphy who made it a two-point game with Connacht's fifth try.
With eight minutes to play, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted a penalty to secure a 34-29 win.
Scorers:
DHL Stormers: Tries: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Evan Roos, Suleiman Hartzenberg. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalty: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Connacht Rugby: Tries: Shane Jennings (2), Conor Oliver, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Josh Murphy. Conversions. Jack Carty (2).
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 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 Louw Nel, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Ben Loader.
Connacht Rugby: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Chay Mullins, 13 David Hawkshaw, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Paul Boyle, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Darragh Murray, 4 Oisin Dowling, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Peter Dooley. Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Josh Murphy, 20 Joe Joyce, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Santiago Cordero, 23 Sean Jansen.