A hat-trick of tries by right wing Suleiman Hartzenberg helped the Stormers to a convincing 43-21 bonupoint victory over Edinburgh in a United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Cape Franchise outscored the visitors from Scotland by seven tries to three.
The Stormers dominated the first half by creating a number of try scoring opportunities through enterprising play. The home side didn’t always make use of all their chances, but they still managed to score four tries with both Hartzenberg and Leolin Zas crossing for a brace in the first 40 minutes with Edinburgh replying with a brace of their own.
Hartzenberg cantered over the tryline in the ninth minute after a perfectly placed cross kick from his flyhalf Manie Libbok.
The visitors hit back almost immediately after winger Jacob Henry pounced on a Stormers error in their own 25m area in the 13th minute.
Hartzenberg crossed for his second five pointer to give the home side a 14-7 lead midway through the first half.
Later on in the first half Edinburgh’s big Fijian number eight Viliame Mata crashed through the Stormers defence to make the halftime score 26-14.
John Dobson’s charges dominated possession and territory. However many opportunities to score were squandered.
Wandisile Simelane finished off a scintillating backline move, but after a TMO review, it was decided that he had lost the ball in the process of dotting it down.
The fleet-footed 26-year-old was unlucky not to get the try, but this did not detract from a brilliant performance in the number 13 jumper. Simelane and Dan du Plessis sizzled as a midfield combination.
And with Manie Libbok pulling the strings at 10 and Damian Willemse stamping his authority in the last line of defence, it came as no surprise that the two wingers, Hartzenberg (3) and Zas (2) crossed the whitewash five times between them.
Industrious loose forward Evan Roos completed the rout in the second half adding another brace.
Although comprehensively outplayed in all aspects of the game, coach Sean Everett’s side never gave up. The Scots managed to cross for their third try by replacement hooker Paddy Harrison. All their tries were converted by Ben Healy.
With this bonus point win, the Stormers rise to 35 points well inside the top eight depending on other URC results over the weekend.
Scorers:
Stormers: Tries: Suleiman Hartzenberg (3), Leolin Zas (2), Evan Roos (2); Conversions: Manie Libbok (3); Jurie Matthee
Edinburgh: Tries: Jacob Henry, Viliame Mata, Paddy Harrison; Conversions: Ben Healy (3)
