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DESPITES WIN FOR STORMERS CONCERNS ABOUT PERFORMANCE RISES

Published: 2026-01-18 15:06:05 Last Updated: 2026-01-19 08:34:21

In their final pool stage Investec Champions Cup encounter at DHL Stadium on Saturday, the DHL Stormers defeated Leicester Tigers 39-26 to get the five log points they required, but the Cape team's management should be concerned about their far from flawless performance.
The victory puts the Stormers in second place in their group overnight, and if host team La Rochelle defeats Harlequins on Sunday afternoon, they will have home pitch advantage in their round of 16 match in April.
The Stormers had achieved their goal and were guaranteed a spot in the next round. In other words, in terms of what it means for their Champions Cup bid, they were able to obtain everything they could have asked for from the game played in front of 24,000 spectators that began in glorious sunlight and concluded in an unseasonal deluge.
But with two consecutive Vodacom URC derbies against the Hollywoodbets Sharks scheduled over the next two weeks, John Dobson must be quite concerned about the game's high error rate and poor game management.

When the Stormers won five games overseas in both competitions earlier in the season, their momentum was built on pragmatic rugby and good game management. However, since they returned home, things have gone south because game management has been a problem ever since they defeated an understrength La Rochelle team in Gqeberha in the competition's second game in mid-December.

After 30 minutes, they had a 12-0 lead thanks to centre Jonathan Roche, who was arguably the Stormers' best player of the day. In the seventh minute, Roche broke through to set up a try to No. 8 Evan Roos, and then Andre Hugo drove over from a lineout maul.

However, the Stormers did not dominate the scrums as they have for a large portion of the season, and they simply made far too many simple mistakes against a team that was competitive for the majority of the game despite being extremely under-strength. By sticking to the fundamentals, the Stormers were shown that there is occasionally merit to percentage rugby.

The hosts' poor exits and excessive rugby in their own half helped the visitors avoid mistakes and ensure they played in the Stormers' half. There was nothing fancy about the visitors. The Stormers seem to have put pressure on themselves to play more crowd-pleasing rugby since returning from overseas, paying attention to the prevailing narrative of what is meant to be the DNA of Cape rugby.

Perhaps as a first step in getting ready for the Sharks, Dobson should forbid any discussion of DNA and instil in the players the idea that winning is what matters most. They were able to accomplish this with notable success earlier in the season by being more straightforward and depending on their forwards.

The Stormers' captain on the day, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, was a formidable opponent for the rival defence as usual, but occasionally it seems like he tries too hard. Although he is a physically strong player, wouldn't it be preferable for him to maintain his position instead of always participating in the loose scrums?

Leicester was able to sweep from inside their own 22 for their first try to fullback George Pearson after he missed a penalty kick for touch. His kicking from hand was once again far from faultless. Feinberg-Mngomezulu's inability to field an awkwardly bouncing ball that hit the corner flag before bouncing off him in touch in goal was largely due to the dubious DHL Stadium playing surface, which has improved since the Bulls game but still carries the legacy of the motocross event held here in December.

Leicester set up the try in the twenty-third minute thanks to the ensuing lineout. After just three more minutes, Leicester scored their second try by taking advantage of some shoddy defensive play in the Stormers' middle. Suddenly, the Stormers, who were ahead 12-0, were behind by two points.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu's penalty on the stroke of halftime eliminated that gap, giving the Stormers a 15–14 lead going into halftime, but it was more than they earned following a half in which they scarcely left their area.

After halftime, Leicester almost scored right away, but they dropped the ball on the line. A few minutes later, they drove over from a lineout to make it 21-15.

In the 49th minute, after receiving a pass on his ankles from Neethling Fouche, Feinberg-Mngomezulu shimmied through a gap and passed to the impressive lock JD Schickerling, who was up in support to send wing Leolin Zas in near the posts. This was something the Stormers did too little of on a day when there was way too much lateral running.

Ironically, Feinberg-Mngomezulu's 10-minute yellow card for leading with his elbow on a carry close to the Leicester line may have been the Stormers' most impressive part of the game, but they had recovered a one-point lead that they never gave up.

It seemed as though the Stormers dug deeper and became more realistic after realising they were down to just 14 men.

Schickerling scored a great solo try during that time to practically end the game, but with eight minutes remaining, the visitors managed to turn it back into a one-score contest with a charge-down try when the rain was falling.

In the end, it could be argued that the Stormers replicated what they had done against the Bulls two weeks prior. After gaining the physical and forward advantage later in the match, they never appeared to be losing, despite allowing Leicester to re-enter the game with that charge-down attempt.

Article Tags: Sport Rugby Performance Stormers