SA’s Super Saturday as Stormers & Sharks win big

The Investec Champions Cup play-off ambition lives strong for the Stormers and Sharks after contrasting, but equally decisive wins on Saturday, writes Mark Keohane.

The Stormers and Sharks both made a statement to teams from up north. Bring your best squads to the Republic to beat South Africa’s elite. Defending champions Bordeaux recognised this a week ago when they went to Pretoria and downed the Bulls. They picked their strongest available match 23, including 16 internationals.

A lessor squad would not have come back from 33-22 at halftime but the world class squad of Bordeaux won comfortably 46-33.

La Rochelle, a two-time title winner, played kids against the Stormers and got done with more ease than the scoreboard suggests.

The Stormers scored six tries to three and had two disallowed in the first 15 minutes. They could – and should – have been 24-0 up before the 15th minute. They played with pace and width and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s line kicking was a lesson in accuracy and control.

Inside of him, Springboks scrum half Cobus Reinach played as if he had spent the past decade at the Stormers. Reinach, on signing for the Stormers from Montpellier, made it clear he was not moving to the Stormers to wind down his career. He was moving to win matches and titles.

The Stormers won 42-21 and felt they should have done better. Their coaches lamented periods of the game, in which they lost shape, structure and the ball.

But they scored at will, when they needed to, and defended with purpose when it was demanded to keep out the youthful La Rochelle set-up.

Flanker Paul de Villiers were brutal over the ball, winning crucial turnovers and the Stormers pack, as a collective, never seemed troubled. De Villiers was named Investec Player of the Match, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Reinach were as imposing in their individual brilliance and clutch moments.

La Rochelle’s coaching team spoke of the gains from a young squad, how they felt they matched the Stormers for physicality but were undone by the initial pace at which the Stormers played.

The Stormers captain Salmaan Moerat, when told of this, said it had been noted, especially the view that they had expected more physicality from the Stormers.

The Stormers are two from two in the Investec Champions Cup, with an away win at Bayonne in France a week ago, and now this win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

They are also six from six in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, having not played at their home base in Cape Town since the league’s opening two matches in the last week week of September and first week in October.

They’ve done the next six on the road, in five different countries, with and without their current Springboks.

They play the Lions in the URC on Saturday in Cape Town, but for now the relief was the opening fortnight of the Investec Champions Cup had been safely negotiated and the Stormers sit atop of their Pool, edging Leinster on points difference.

WATCH: STORMERS WIN FOR 8th SUCCESSIVE TIME IN ALL COMPETITIONS

KEO & ZELS CALLED THE STORMERS AND SHARKS INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP WINS

INPHO/Steve Haag Sports

JP Pietersen’s tenure as Sharks coach got reward as the hosts beat Saracens 28-23 in Durban.

The weather conditions were tough, the match was tough, and not easy on the eye, but the Sharks played with desire to get a result after a woeful start to the competition and an equally poor start to the URC.

Saracens rested some of their biggest names in Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Maro Entoje, and the Sharks were the beneficiaries of this marvellous England trio not being in the match 23.

Andre Esterhuizen, at inside centre, played his 100th match for the Sharks and led the team as captain.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi started and emptied the tank in his 51 minute performance. Kolisi scored the opening try in a match that could have gone either way. Saracens had a chance to draw/win the match with the last play in injury time, but they knocked on a metre from the Sharks try line and the victory belonged to the Sharks.

WATCH: SHARKS BEAT SARACENS

*In the EPCR Challenge Cup, RedBull Newcastle scored in the 78th minute to beat South Africa’s Lions 14-10 and Stade Francis beat the Cheetahs 45-22 in Amsterdam.

For all the latest on the SA challenge in the Investec Champions Cup, visit SARugbymag

WIN BIG WITH AFRICA PICKS