Sharks v Stormers: Five takeaways as Springboks hopefuls shine as ...

Following the Stormers’ 25-21 victory over the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship clash in Durban, here are our five takeaways.

Winning is a habit, and while both the Sharks and Stormers returned after nearly a month’s break and on winning streaks, the Cape-based side continued their habit as they knocked over their struggling coastal rivals.

It’s six straight wins across all competitions for John Dobson’s charges, starting with that epic victory over La Rochelle in December. Today’s result also marks the Stormers’ 15th successive win over South African opposition.

The Stormers certainly didn’t have it all their own way against the men in black but tries from Joseph Dweba, Paul de Wet and Ben Loader, and 10 points off the boot of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu were enough to see them over the line.

The Durbanites endured a slow start to the fixture but grew into the derby and mounted a comeback through Ox Nche, James Venter and Bongi Mbonambi’s tries.

The two sides are at different points in their developments; the Stormers are a well-oiled machine that, despite some under-par performances this season, they are very much a title contender. As for the Sharks, they could describe this season as the first step in a rebuild, but frankly, it is an overhaul as John Plumtree and co. look to the future, take stock of what they have and don’t have, and implement new systems.

As is the case for all new regimes, the attack is one of the most difficult aspects to get firing on all cylinders, and the Sharks did manage to put their coastal rivals under the pump at times, but there was an apparent lack of cohesion and sharpness in the way they went about their business.

Scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse has clearly been given instructions to scoop up the ball at the back of the ruck and shift it on as soon as possible, and while he did this effectively, too often, his teammates weren’t as quick to react, collecting the ball flat-footed and in some cases switched the attack with a pass in the opposite direction.

Curwin Bosch struggled once again, and Plumtree may be more inclined to give Siya Masuku more minutes going forward as the attack looked more organised and threatening with him running the show.

The opposite is true for the Stormers, who have much more clarity with the ball in hand and constantly look to keep it alive. More often than not, their ball carrier had multiple options on either side of them and when they went to ground for a potential pop off the deck.

It’s worth mentioning that the Stormers were able to do this with their Springbok playmakers Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse both absent as in-form scrum-half De Wet, fly-half Jurie Mathee, centre Feinberg-Mngomezulu and full-back Warrick Gelant filled in superbly.

The URC social media accounts released the probability of each club making the competition’s play-off stages, and the Sharks entered the weekend with a 1% chance.

Even the most optimistic Sharks fans will have written off any chance of a URC title challenge this season, but on Saturday, building blocks for the future began to appear.

The hosts managed to stress one of the most in-form sides in the competition, recovering from a slow start to come within a score of clinching an unlikely victory. Their set-piece was not dominant but was accurate, as they managed to secure 100% of their possession from both their own scrums and lineouts.

Experienced players like Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Hendrikse and Phepsi Buthelezi are finding good form again, while Mbonambi’s try-scoring return is certainly a welcomed one.

This time around, they just did not have the finishing touches.

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Rassie Erasmus will have kept a keen eye on proceedings in Durban – and Johannesburg earlier in the day – as he prepares his first Springboks squad of the year. While the slippery conditions weren’t conducive for attacking rugby, he will have certainly taken away a lot from the action.

For starters, Feinberg-Mngomezulu impressed in the absence of Willemse and on his return from injury. The classy young back has already been on the Springboks’ radar, and today’s performance will only further his prospects of making a Test debut this year. He set up the Stormers’ opening score with a stunning flat cross-kick and was solid off the tee too, despite Durban being a really challenging place to kick at.

Evan Roos also returned from injury and was eager to put in a statement shift as he sprinted around the pitch, getting into as many battles as he could. However, he was sometimes over-zealous, which led to a few penalties. Still, it was a solid shift from the Bok hopeful.

Stormers lock Ruben van Heerden put in another battle-hardened shift getting through a boatload of work that will not go unnoticed, as did the likes of Neethling Fouche and Andre-Hugo Venter. Gelant seems to be finding his groove once again, particularly with his brilliant try assist for De Wet.

Finally, from the Stormers, Hacjivah Dayimani put in another hefty shift and proved that he isn’t all for the flashy work, making a crucial cover tackle and clearance on Bosch in the first half and racked up a respectable 13 tackles and a turnover.

As for the Sharks, the Springbok regulars are hitting form once again, as mentioned above, while Burthelezi is building on his strong season despite the side’s results. Apehelele Fassi had another performance riddled with swings and roundabouts but mostly came out on the positive.

But the impact from the Sharks bench was certainly worth taking note of as Mbonambi, Nthuthuko Mchunu, Coenie Oosthuizen, Masuku, Vincent Tshituka, and Aphiwe Dyantyi swung the momentum back into the hosts’ favour.

Both sides have a week’s break before returning during the first weekend of March, when the Stormers take on the Bulls and the Sharks tackle the Lions in another derby weekend.

The Sharks will spend the remainder of the URC season looking to pull their structures together and iron out a few victories to move off the foot of the table. They still have passage into the Champions Cup for next season if they are able to win the Challenge Cup, a goal they should vehemently chase this campaign.

As for the Stormers, the opportunity to rack up a 16th successive win over South African opposition awaits them when they have the Bulls. Dobson’s side will be eager to continue their respective winning streaks and move back into the top four on the table. After a sluggish start to the season, the Stormers are looking more like the side that won the inaugural URC and while they didn’t produce a full 80-minute performance today, winning when you are not playing your best is the sign of a championship side.

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