Stormers beat Connacht and top United Rugby Championship table — TimesLIVE
South African rugby club Stormers defeated Ireland's Connacht 29:15 in Galway, Ireland, and ended Friday's match night in first place in the United Rugby Championship standings. The team earned five competition points, including a bonus point, scoring four tries to their opponent's two.
According to TimesLIVE, Stormers played the match without a number of players, including Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, JJ Kotze, Deon Fourie, BJ Dixon, Evan Roos and Siya Kolisi. Despite the absence of these rugby players, the team secured its fifth win in the last six matches against Connacht.
Advantage in the match
Stormers were ahead on the scoreboard for 56 minutes of the match, had possession for 62% of playing time, and in the final 10 minutes this figure reached 84%. Connacht made 87 more tackles than their opponents.
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At the end of the first half, the South African team made mistakes. With the score at 10:0, a Stormers player's pass was intercepted, after which Connacht scored a try. The Irish club scored another try after the halftime hooter, taking advantage of their opponent losing the ball, an awarded penalty and the subsequent attack. Less than 10 minutes before the end of the match, Stormers' lead was only two points, but two late scoring plays secured their victory.
Norton's and Venter's contribution
South Africa U-20 captain Riley Norton returned after a three-month break caused by a hamstring injury. He was initially due to play in the second row, but switched to the number-seven flanker position before the match. Norton carried the ball 20 times and made 14 tackles.
Hooker Andre-Hugo Venter was named player of the match. He made the most tackles for his team, with 16, and was also effective in contests for the ball and set pieces. Stormers had 15 entries into the 22-metre area and averaged 1.9 points per such attack.
