The Stormers were their worst enemies on Friday evening in Belfast after conceding a yellow and red card that led to their downfall against Ulster in the United Rugby Championship (URC).
Influential flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu copped the yellow, while captain Neethling Fouche received a red for a dangerous tackle, which opened the door for the home team to sneak the game.
Despite their fighting spirit, playing for most of the second half with 14 men, the Cape side came up short, losing 38-34 after a speedy start.
Looking at their 17-0 lead after 10 minutes, they probably should never have lost the game.
It was a quickfire start by the visitors, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu pulling the strings on the attack as eighth man Evan Roos and winger Ben Loader scored in the first six minutes. The flyhalf added a deft drop goal between the five-pointers to get his side off to the best possible start at the Kingspan Stadium.
Ulster was guilty of trying to play a running game against their opponents but soon found out that it was the wrong decision. When they started trucking the ball up through the middle, that was when they had the most success.
They scored 17 unanswered points through three tries to tie the half 17-all when the sides went into the sheds. Ulster flyhalf Jack Murphy scored right before the break when Feinberg-Mngomezulu received his yellow, while their fourth try three minutes after halftime paved the way for the home side to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Only two tries were scored in Fouche’s absence, but how the tighthead prop was carded would’ve had Stormers’ director of rugby John Dobson fuming. He made head contact with the ball carrier, but Fouche was in a low tackling position with the player running into his forearm. Initially, referee Andrea Piardi said both players were low, but after some influence by the TMO, he reversed his decision.
The TMO also tried to intervene with another decision on head contact at a ruck, but Piardi overruled him, saying there was no contact. But he then gave a penalty for a dangerous cleanout when no traces of head contact were found on the replays.
Leading 17-0 after the opening stanza, though, the Stormers should’ve never let the referee calls influence the game. It was there for the taking, but they failed to capitalise due to ill-discipline and not capitalising on their attacking chances.
Still, picking up two points on their final away round-robin game is not to be scoffed at. They have a run-in of four games at the DHL Stadium, where they will look to get maximum points as they push for a favourable playoff position.
Points scorers
Ulster 38 (17): Tries: Rob Baloucoune, Andrew Warwick, Jack Murphy, Jacob Stockdale, Zac Ward, Stewart Moore. Conversions: John Cooney (2), Murphy (2). Stormers 34 (17): Tries: Evan Roos (2), Ben Loader, Willie Englebrecht. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4). Drop goals: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).
