Stormers overpower Cardiff to end Welsh URC challenge

Nation.Cymru staff

Cardiff’s United Rugby Championship campaign came to an end in Cape Town as the Stormers powered their way into the semi-finals with a convincing six-try victory.

The Welsh side showed plenty of spirit and briefly threatened an upset after taking an early lead, but they were ultimately overpowered by a dominant Stormers pack as ill-discipline and set-piece struggles proved costly.

The South Africans will now face either Leinster in Dublin or fellow South African side the Lions in next weekend’s semi-finals.

Cardiff made the perfect start when full-back Cameron Winnett intercepted a Stormers pass and raced clear to score against the run of play.

But the home side responded quickly and took control through their powerful forward platform.

Hooker Andre-Hugo Venter crossed for the Stormers’ opening try before prop Ntuthuko Mchunu and wing Leolin Zas also touched down as Cardiff struggled to contain the hosts.

The visitors’ problems were compounded in the scrum, where Wales prop Keiron Assiratti endured a difficult afternoon. After conceding a series of penalties, he was shown a yellow card in the first half and later left the field with a calf injury that could put his involvement in Wales’s summer campaign in doubt.

Despite being under pressure, Cardiff refused to fold.

Wales back-rowers Taine Basham and James Botham both crossed the whitewash to keep the visitors in contention, but every time Cardiff threatened a comeback, the Stormers found another gear.

Flanker Paul de Villiers added the home side’s fourth try before replacements helped seal victory in the closing stages.

Hooker JJ Kotze crossed from the bench before fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu completed the scoring, finishing the match with 11 points.

Sin-bin

Cardiff’s afternoon became even more difficult when fellow tight-head Javan Sebastian was sent to the sin-bin in the second half as referee Eoghan Cross lost patience with the visitors’ repeated infringements.

The Stormers’ victory also represented revenge for their 22-16 defeat to Cardiff in the final round of the regular season.

Speaking after the game, Cardiff wing Josh Adams told S4C: “We’re disappointed with the result, but throughout the season we’ve been great.

“We deserved to be in a game like this today.

“We battled really hard and right to the end.

“But we’re a young team and there’s a lot of growth to be done.

“I’m looking forward to next season and hopefully to improving as well.”