Stormers Run In Five Tries To Beat Ulster 33-7
The Stormers beat Ulster 33-7 in Cape Town on Saturday, scoring five tries to move closer to the top of the United Rugby Championship (URC), the club competition that pits teams from South Africa, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and Namibia against one another. Ulster are still waiting for their first league win of the season.
The home side had to work for their lead. They were only 12-7 up at half-time, with Ulster's only try coming from David McCann, who went over and was converted by Jack Murphy. The second half belonged to the Stormers, who kept the ball and kept pushing.
Their tries came from JD Schickerling, Paul de Villiers, Evan Roos, Ruhan Nel and Alexandros Ahmed. Ahmed also kicked four conversions, the goals that follow a try and add two points each. That kicking turned a good afternoon into a comfortable one.
The win also earned the Stormers a bonus point, the extra table point the URC gives a team that scores four or more tries. It is their fourth win from five URC matches this season, a record that puts them among the strongest starts in the league.
Ulster's start is harder to read kindly. They have played five league games, lost three and drawn two. Their week was tough too, with a defeat by the Bulls in Pretoria only days before this trip. Ulster were also without their Ireland players, who had gone back to international duty ahead of the Nations Championship games in November.
Coach Richie Murphy's side finished the first block of their regular season with this defeat. The referee, Sam Grove-White, kept the game moving, and the scoreboard told the story of a team that struggled to match the Stormers' pace after the break.
Ulster's next chance to claim that first league win comes on 5 December, when they travel to Cardiff. That game is scheduled for 15:00 at Cardiff Arms Park. For the Stormers, the result is another sign of a side that has taken its chances well, and a reminder that the URC table is tight enough for one good weekend to change a lot.
