Eight-try DHL Stormers power past Kings
Centre Huw Jones scored four tries and wing Leolin Zas grabbed a hat-trick as the DHL Stormers finished the regular season on a high with a 52-24 bonus-point victory against the Southern Kings at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
Although the result had no bearing on the play-offs, with the DHL Stormers set to face the Chiefs in their Vodacom Super Rugby quarterfinal at DHL Newlands next weekend, the comfortable win will give them plenty of confidence heading into the knock-out stage of the competition.
After captain Schalk Burger had led the team out along with his two young sons, the DHL Stormers got off to a sensational start as Jones collected his own grubber to score in the first minute and give them an early 7-0 lead.
The home side kept the pressure on as they camped in Kings territory, and it paid off when a long pass from an attacking scrum found Jones who needed no invitation to skip over for his second try, with the conversion from flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis making it 14-0 after 15 minutes.
The Kings managed to get on the scoreboard with a penalty from flyhalf Dewald Human, but the DHL Stormers responded with a third try as left wing Leolin Zas dived over after another sustained attack.
The DHL Stormers suffered a setback when scrumhalf Louis Schreuder was shown a yellow card for a cynical infringement in his 22, but the hosts showed good defensive discipline to keep the Kings from scoring.
However, the Kings would eventually get over the tryline as fullback Malcolm Jaer got on the end of a grubber to dive over for the try just before half-time which cut the DHL Stormers advantage to 21-10, but perhaps more concerning for the hosts was the sight of Du Plessis limping off with an ankle injury just before the break.
The DHL Stormers struck early in the second half when Jones finished off a flowing backline move to register his hat-trick and put them back in bonus-point range with a 26-10 lead.
The home side showed good patience on attack, and they were rewarded when the ball was worked wide to Zas who went over in the corner for his second five-pointer.
The flying wing did not have to wait long for his hat-trick, which came courtesy of an intercept in his own half, and with the floodgates well and truly open a searing run from Jones saw the ball go wide to Brandon Thomson who scored in the corner.
There was time for a late consolation try from the Kings, with left wing Wandile Mjekevu crossing late from a counter-attack, but the DHL Stormers responded through Jones who got over for his fourth try before Kings centre Stefan Watermeyer had the final say n the stroke of full-time.
Tickets for the Vodacom Super Rugby quarterfinal between the DHL Stormers and the Chiefs at DHL Newlands on Saturday, July 23 will go on sale at 12h00 on Monday, July 18.
Season tickets will be valid for the qualifier and public tickets range in price from as low as R85 in the standing area to R395 for Category One seats in the Grandstand. Tickets will be available from Monday, July 18 at 12h00 from Computicket and wprugby.computicket.com and the stadium box office will open at 09h00 on Tuesday, July 19. Supporters are encouraged to book early to avoid being disappointed or having to stand in long queues.
The scorers:
For DHL Stormers:
Tries: Jones 4, Zas 3, Thomson
Cons: Du Plessis 3, Thomson 3
For Southern Kings:
Tries: Jaer, Mjekevu, Watermeyer
Cons: Human, Watts 2
Pen: Human
DHL Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 JP Smith, 19 Kobus van Dyk, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Scott van Breda.
Southern Kings: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Lukhanyo Am, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Wandile Mjekevu, 10 Dewald Human, 9 James Hall, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 JC Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Jeremy Ward.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
