Cape Town — The Stormers came from almost nowhere to snatch a last-gasp 17-15 victory over Ulster in the United Rugby Championship semi-final to set up a Cape Town Stadium final against the Bulls next Saturday.
Warrick Gelant scored the injury-time try, and Manie Libbok slotted the winning conversion.
This is how we rated the Stormers…
Warrick Gelant: 6
He is normally the man who makes things happen on attack for the Stormers, but it didn’t quite happen for him this time around… until the last-gasp match-winning try, which gives him an extra point. Ulster were clever in keeping their box-kicks short and contestable, which prevented Gelant from launching counter-attacks.
Seabelo Senatla: 6
In a tight match, the former sevens star also didn’t get much ball, but he looked for work around the pitch and nearly slipped through with a thrilling late run.
Ruhan Nel: 6
The Stormers No 13 had his hands full in trying to contain giant Ulster midfielders James Hume and Stuart McCloskey, and apart from one line-break against him, Nel stood firm in defence.
Damian Willemse: 7
After a surprise recovery from an elbow injury, Willemse was again an all-action figure at No 12 and was chosen as the Man of the Match. He tried to spark the attack by offloading in the tackle, and also kept the Ulster centres in check.
Leolin Zas: 5
Didn’t see much of the action in the first half, and was replaced at halftime and spotted with crutches and a moonboot on his left leg on the sidelines.
Manie Libbok: 6
Normally the force behind the Stormers attack, Libbok battled to create space out wide in the face of a hard rush defence from Ulster. He also missed two early conversions, and booted a crucial penalty into touch in-goal with about 15 minutes left. But the No 10 displayed serious composure to land the match-winning conversion.
Herschel Jantjies: 7
His involvement in that first try by Evan Roos was exceptional as he managed to get the try-scoring pass away. His box-kicking was largely accurate, and he did well to keep the tempo going in those thrilling final moments that led to Warrick Gelant’s try.
Evan Roos: 8
The Stormers No 8 was a gigantic presence in the first half with a series of dynamic carries through the heart of the Ulster line. He showed a good turn of pace to finish off a try, and got stuck in on defence as well, and had the better of his one-on-one duel with Duane Vermeulen.
Hacjivah Dayimani: 6
The blindside flank’s dancing feet weren’t as prominent as in previous games, although he did try to worm his way past the Ulster defenders. Dayimani was clearly closely marked on attack, but he did the hard yards in defence too.
Deon Fourie: 6
Made a crucial intervention to save the day for the Stormers by falling back to win the loose ball close to the tryline, but it led to him leaving the field for a head injury assessment in the first half, although he returned to the pitch.
Marvin Orie: 6
Ran the Stormers lineout efficiently with his jumping and calling, and was a willing ball-carrier too.
Salmaan Moerat: 8
This was Moerat’s most influential performance in a Stormers jersey. He was commanding in the lineouts, made a big impact with his physical hits in defence and carried the ball strongly too.
Frans Malherbe: 6
Was a solid competitor in the scrums, and did well to pull off a few passes in general play to keep the Stormers attack.
JJ Kotze: 7
Scored the first try from a driving maul, and was enthusiastic throughout. He was a busy ball-carrier, found his jumpers in the lineouts and made his tackles around the pitch.
Steven Kitshoff: 7
The Stormers captain charged forward with relish with ball-in-hand, and was a solid presence in the scrums all the way to the final few minutes, when he was replaced by Brok Harris.
Bench of the bench – Godlen Masimla: 7
The back-up scrumhalf had to fill in at left wing for the injured Leolin Zas at the start of the second half, and did his job with great tenacity. He chased high kicks enthusiastically, and fell back to support Warrick Gelant in defence as well.
IOL Sport