Stylish Stormers strike Connacht

24/09/2022 16:30

The DHL Stormers opened their Vodacom United Rugby Championship title defence in style with a comnfortable bonus-point victory against 14-man Connacht in Stellenbosch on Saturday. After a tight first half, the Stormers punished Bundee Aki’s red card with a couple of excellently-worked tries steering the defending champions to a 38-15 victory at the Danie Craven Stadium. The hosts got the match off to a sensational start when Evan Roos burst through a gap and bumped off Irish international wing Mack Hansen on his way to the tryline. Roos in the loose! Like trying to tackle a fridge with rocket boosters.#STOvCON #URC pic.twitter.com/i1AUPVp1bX — EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) September 24, 2022 EVAN ROOS!!!@Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/vSw9fqrKPx — SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) September 24, 2022 However, the remainder of the first half was a tightly-contested affair, with Manie Libbok showing his class by slotting two penalties to go with his touchline conversion. The Stormers had their fair share of lineout woes in the first half and struggled to contain Connacht’s maul and that allowed the visitors to score just before the break through hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin. Libbok converted another two penalties in the second half before Aki was red-carded for a dangerous, no arms clean-out on Seabelo Senatla. That opened the floodgates for the Stormers as Andre-Hugo Venter finished off a sensationally worked try, which was quickly followed up by another score when Hacjivah Dayimani sprinted clear after a breakdown turnover by Angelo Davids. Connacht struck back in the final 10 minutes with a try from close range, but loose forward Marcel Theunissen went over from a driving maul in the final play to seal the bonus point. Photo: @TheStormers/Twitter  The post Stylish Stormers strike Connacht appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.