The Stormers beat Bristol Bears 49-12 at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, scoring seven tries in their Investec Champions Cup Pool 3 opener after hooker JJ Kotze was red-carded in the 33rd minute.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked all seven conversions. Jonathan Roche and Leolin Zas scored two tries apiece, and the Stormers Champions Cup campaign opens with a bonus-point win.
Seabelo Senatla, Warrick Gelant and Andre-Hugo Venter scored the others. Bristol’s points came through Joe Owen and Sol Moody.
The Stormers Champions Cup Opener Starts At Pace
Senatla had the opening try inside seven minutes and Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted it.
The Stormers had already monstered the first scrum for a penalty, and the set piece kept handing them field position for the rest of the half.
Cobus Reinach thought he had the second in the ninth minute, but the try was scrubbed for a knock-on in the build-up.
Senatla then turned provider, offloading for Zas to go over in the 15th minute. Feinberg-Mngomezulu made it 14-0.
Bristol’s first proper attacking set produced their reply. Joe Owen bumped off Feinberg-Mngomezulu and finished in the right corner in the 22nd minute, and fly-half Sam Worsley converted for 14-7.
The hosts answered in the 28th minute. Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse combined, Roche took the scoring pass, and the third conversion put the home side 21-7 ahead.
What A 20-Minute Red Card Means
The Stormers Champions Cup opener turned on two cards, and the first came in the 33rd minute when Kotze was sent off.
Under the 20-minute red card, the player takes no further part in the match, but his team may replace him once 20 minutes of playing time have passed. The player is punished for the day. The team is punished for 20 minutes.
Andre-Hugo Venter came on for Siya Kolisi in the 37th minute.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu pushed a long-range penalty wide on the stroke of half-time, and the Stormers went to the break 21-7 up and a man down.
The restart cost them another. Reinach intercepted and ran clear in the 49th minute, but that try was wiped out too, this time after a TMO review of a shoulder-to-head collision between Zas and Bristol wing Aidan Boshoff, and Zas was sent to the sin bin.
That left 13 Stormers on the field, and Bristol took the opening. Sol Moody drove over from a maul in the 51st minute to cut it to 21-12.
It was the last time the Bears were in the match.
“Thirteen men at one stage and still getting the job done. The scoreline does not tell the full story. Stormers were the better side by a distance!” – 🎙️Jay
Five Tries After The Break
Zas served his 10 minutes and came back to a settled game.
Roche scored his second in the 53rd minute after Bristol failed to deal with a contestable kick.
It was the fourth Stormers try, and four tries in a pool match earn the try bonus, so that point was banked with 27 minutes still to play.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted, as he did every Stormers try.
The bench then closed it out. Gelant took the score to 35-12, Venter scored in the 74th minute for 42-12, and Zas claimed his second in the 78th for 49-12.
Bristol did not score again after the 51st minute.
Kevin Bralley of France was the referee.
How The Points Were Scored
- 7′ Try, Seabelo Senatla (Stormers), converted by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu — 7-0
- 15′ Try, Leolin Zas (Stormers), converted — 14-0
- 22′ Try, Joe Owen (Bristol Bears), converted by Sam Worsley — 14-7
- 28′ Try, Jonathan Roche (Stormers), converted — 21-7
- 33′ Red card, JJ Kotze (Stormers)
- 49′ Yellow card, Leolin Zas (Stormers)
- 51′ Try, Sol Moody (Bristol Bears), not converted — 21-12
- 53′ Try, Jonathan Roche (Stormers), converted — 28-12
- Try, Warrick Gelant (Stormers), converted — 35-12
- 74′ Try, Andre-Hugo Venter (Stormers), converted — 42-12
- 78′ Try, Leolin Zas (Stormers), converted — 49-12
