The Stormers continue to conspire against themselves in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
After springing to life in the opening five minutes in the DHL Stadium on Saturday afternoon via an inspirational first-half performance by flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the former champions shot themselves in the foot in the second half and almost lost the game.
If not for obstruction late in the game, caught by the television match official, Connacht would’ve had a conversion to seal a famous victory after a late try made it 34-34 with the kick to come.
But, in the build-up to the try, the obstruction was spotted which meant the try was cancelled and the Stormers could tap the penalty and kick it out for a 34-29 victory.
Five tries for five points. See you back here next weekend. #STOvCON #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/Yig1mTO4Bh
Feinberg-Mngomezulu, scoring 24 points, was at his absolute best and scored a hattrick of tries after just 25 minutes. His third also sealed the bonus point for the home side, with eighth man Evan Roos also getting in on the scoring action from a pick-up after a strong scrum.
Those three tries by Feinberg-Mngomezulu were magical and bossed the attack from the first time his side put their hands on the ball. For the opening score, after barely three minutes, he had some good interplay with winger Suleiman Hartzenberg before slicing through the defence.
Flanker Paul de Villiers, who also starred during his time on the field, was his support player for the second score, before De Villiers and Ruben van Heerden, playing in his 50th game for the Stormers, sparked the third one as Feinberg-Mngomezulu chipped his way to the try line.
Remember that time you saw Sacha score a hat-trick in the first half? Everyone here will. #STOvCON #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/gWooEwib30
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 19, 2025
But, for every try that Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored, some poor exit play and defence allowed the visitors to hit back with a try of their own. They just couldn’t exit properly and it put the team under immense pressure. It allowed Connacht to find space on the outside with the Stormers’ rush defence not functioning at all.
Left wing Shane Jennings scored a brace, while two other five-pointers inbetween the speedsters’ tries made the halftime score 26-24 in the favour of the Stormers.
Hartzenberg scored early in the second half to give the team a lead of seven points and from there they should’ve closed out the game. On top of that, Connacht also received a yellow card for repeated infringements. The fact that the Cape side could not score any points at that time, and it was the visitors who had the upper hand, will leave plenty of questions.
How about this Sacha guy hey? #STOvCON #iamastormer @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/Kwqk5zIHSG
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 19, 2025
There will be plenty of questions about why the Stormers did not kick at goal then when they were up 31-24 to give them a 10-point cushion. The penalties were slap-bang in front of the posts.
Again, things were likely too easy for them, and took their foot off the accelerator. Credit to Connacht, they never stopped fighting and made good on their promise to fight the Stormers’ attacking fire with their own fire.
They had the Cape side on the ropes and was it not for that disallowed try, they could’ve walked off with a famous victory – one that more than half of the crowd of 18 211 supporters would never have predicted.
This will be a wake-up call for the Cape side, and they must be better when they face Benetton next weekend.
Points scorers
Stormers 34 - (26): Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Evan Roos, Suleiman Hartzenberg. Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3). Penalty: Mngomezulu. Connacht 29 (24): Tries: Shane Jennings (2), Conor Oliver, Dylan Tierney-Martin, Josh Murphy. Conversions: Jack Carty (2).