Glasgow Warriors knocked off top spot in torrid URC as South African fan's sign comes true

Three yellow cards in torrid clash with Stormers in Cape Town

Franco Smith is a proud South African but his return home has not been a comfortable one, with his Glasgow Warriors side suffering two heavy defeats in as many weeks.

The 48-12 loss to the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday followed on from the crushing 54-12 setback against the Lions in Johannesburg seven days previously.

The net result is that the Warriors have been knocked off top spot in the United Rugby Championship.

Glasgow have failed to pick up a single match point on this mini-tour and have conceded 14 tries and over 100 points in two games. There were also more injuries. They lost their full-back Kyle Rowe after a clash of heads in the first half and Euan Ferrie also departed early with a shoulder issue and was seen in a sling at the end of the game.

‘The next great South African fly-half’

For the hosts, it was the perfect riposte after last weekend’s shock setback at home to Connacht. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has long been touted as the next great South African fly-half and he burnished his credentials with a performance in Cape Town which showcased his vision and technique. He scored a try and added another 18 points with the boot.

Glasgow were second best in the set-piece and were also outsmarted in the kicking contest. There was indiscipline too, with both Jack Dempsey and Adam Hastings sent to the sin-bin. The Stormers’ Cobus Reinach was also yellow-carded in an open game which was fiercely contested.

The home team took the lead early on and never relinquished it but tries in the first half from Ollie Smith and Gregor Hiddleston kept them in the fight and they went in at the break 24-12 down. Hastings’ yellow card early in the second half followed by Ruhan Nel’s bonus-point try took the game out of Glasgow’s reach and the Stormers rubbed in their superiority through late tries from Feinberg-Mngomezulu and replacement Keke Morabe. They won the second half 24-0.

“Sorry Glasgow, not today” said a sign held by a young Stormers supporter and that just about summed it up.

Ntuthuko Mchunu was the man who did the damage in the first half for the Stormers but the big prop looked like he might have to come off inside the first couple of minutes. The loosehead hurt his shoulder and former Glasgow favourite Oli Kebble was readying himself to come on.

In the end, Mchunu soldiered on and his two try-burst in a five-minute spell put the South African side in the driving seat. Feinberg-Mngomezulu had already given the home team the lead with an early penalty before Mchunu scored his first from a cleverly-worked tap. The second came off after a lineout and it was a double dose of misery for the Warriors because Dempsey was shown a yellow card at the same time.

Tuipulotu steps up

Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted both tries, pushing the Stormers 17-0 ahead after 14 minutes and it was already looking like being a long afternoon for the visitors who had conceded eight tries the previous week against the Lions

Glasgow needed some inspiration and they got it from Sione Tuipulotu. The centre embarked on a brilliant run from his own half after a Stormers grubber had been intercepted. Tuipulotu was eventually halted but not legally and, from the subsequent penalty, Hastings flung it wide to Ollie Smith who showed great footwork to dodge his way over. Hastings couldn’t convert but Glasgow were back in the game.

The Stormers were clinical in their response, however. After a contestable kick went to the floor, Reinach burst clear and passed to Feinberg-Mngomezulu who found Evan Roos to score. The conversion made it 24-5 and Glasgow were further damaged when Rowe had to go off for an HIA.

Stafford McDowall replaced him and Glasgow rallied in the minutes before half-time. Pressure on the Stormers caused the hosts to go offside a couple of times and referee Eoghan Cross lost patience, sending Reinach to the bin. The scrum-half looked distinctly dischuffed but the Warriors made the most of the penalty, plundering a lineout drive try through Hiddleston. Hastings’ conversion cut the Stormers’ lead to 24-12.

Hastings get it wrong

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s second penalty edged the hosts further ahead and the loss of Hastings was another blow to Glasgow. The stand-off got his tackle technique all wrong and was too upright as he went in on André-Hugo Venter, catching the Stormers hooker in the head.

The Stormers scored their fourth try soon after, Feinberg-Mngomezulu threading through a delightful diagonal kick for Nel to score.

Glasgow steadied the ship for a while but there was no way back for them. The Stormers brought on 18-year-old schoolboy sensation Markus Muller and the hosts ended with a flourish, scoring two more tries in the final eight minutes.

Their scrum had been dominant throughout and gave them the perfect platform for Feinberg-Mngomezulu to bag the score he deserved, the No 10 running the perfect line. Morabe got the sixth and final try from a lineout drive.

Stormers v Glasgow Warriors teams and scorers

Scorers. Stormers: Tries: Mchunu 2, Roos, Nel, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morabe. Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 6. Pen: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2. Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Smith, Hiddleston. Cons: Hastings.

Yellow cards: Dempsey (Glasgow, 13min), Reinach (Stormers, 37min), Hastings (Glasgow, 46min)

DHL Stormers: D Willemse; W Simelane (M Muller 68), R Nel, D du Plessis (Jurie Matthee 60), L Zas; S Feinberg-Mngomezulu, C Reinach (I Khan 59); N Mchunu (O Kebble 58), A-H Venter (JJ Kotzé 47-58), N Fouché (Z Porthen 56), A Smith (M Theunissen 35-45), R van Heerden, P de Villiers (K Morabe 62), B-J Dixon (M Theunissen 55), E Roos.

Glasgow Warriors: K Rowe (S McDowall 35); K Steyn, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, O Smith; A Hastings, B Afshar (J Oliver 65); P Schickerling (N McBeth 51), G Hiddleston (J Matthews 51), Z Fagerson (S Talakai 51), R Burke (J Oguntibeju 51), A Samuel, E Ferrie (D Cockburn 31), A Fraser, J Dempsey (S Vailanu 62).

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU).