DHL STADIUM – The DHL Stormers bounced back from their defeat to Edinburgh with a commanding 39-22 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at DHL Stadium on Saturday.
Hacjivah Dayimani stole the spotlight with a hat-trick of tries as the Stormers delivered an impressive attacking performance to secure a bonus-point victory.
The Stormers opened the scoring after six minutes when winger Seabelo Senatla finished off a rolling-maul attack to give the hosts a 5-0 lead. Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu added a penalty seven minutes later to extend the advantage to 8-0.
The Sharks responded through flank Emmanuel Tshituka, who crossed for a try, although Vusi Moyo missed the conversion. Gianni Lombard then levelled the scores at 8-8 with a penalty in the 29th minute.
Sharks flank Matt Romao received a yellow card in the 34th minute for a no-arms tackle, temporarily reducing the visitors to 14 men. The Stormers capitalised soon after, with Dayimani scoring from a rolling maul before Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted.
Andre-Hugo Venter added another maul try just before half-time, with the conversion giving the Stormers a 22-8 lead at the break.
The home side continued their momentum after the restart, with winger Leolin Zas scoring in the corner just a minute into the second half. Dayimani crossed for his second try five minutes later, extending the Stormers’ lead to 34-8.
The Sharks responded through Romao, who crossed for a try, with Lombard adding the conversion. Eighthman Phepsi Buthelezi followed with another try from a maul to reduce the deficit to 34-22.
However, replacement JJ Kotze crossed in the 63rd minute before Dayimani completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute to seal a 39-22 victory for the Stormers.
The result gives the Stormers a valuable coastal derby win as they look to build momentum in the URC, while the Sharks will take lessons from a challenging afternoon in Cape Town.
Image: @THESTORMERS/Twitter.
