KEO UNCUT | Stormers have depth to clinch league title - TimesLIVE

Collectively, it was a big night in Galway for the Stormers. They secured five league points on the road and ended Friday evening top of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table.

That is where they will want to stay for much of the season, and the 29-15 win against Connacht (four tries to two) provided enough proof that the Stormers have the depth to be league winners.

This Stormers team played without all three scrumhalves from last season, including Springbok No 9 Cobus Reinach. They were without world-class backs Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe, and without Springboks forwards Wilco Louw, Ntuthuko Mchunu, JJ Kotze, Deon Fourie, BJ Dixon, Evan Roos and Siya Kolisi.

Adding that group of players emphasises the potential and potency of the Stormers.

In Galway, these World Cup winners were absent, and it took the talent and maturity of several veterans, alongside many next-generation newcomers, to finish off the hosts.

The double-digit points differential reflected the dominance of the Stormers, though the match status was tight, with the Stormers leading by only two points with less than 10 minutes to play.

The win was their fifth in their last six matches against Connacht.

The scoreboard, going into the final minutes, was largely due to poor Stormers decision-making in the final three minutes of the first half. The Stormers, 10-0 up, were a pass away from adding a second try, but the pass was intercepted, and Connacht scored from the resulting play.

They scored again after the half-time hooter when the Stormers attempted to attack from within their own half, were turned over, conceded a penalty and then conceded a try from that penalty.

Logically, the Stormers should have ended the half with a tame kick into touch. But this is the Stormers; and they are a group that dabbles in the glorious and inglorious.

Fortunately, sanity took charge in the second half; there was more patience in the attack, if not much variety, and they were always in control.

Two late scores, the bonus-point try coming from a lethal strike in transition play, were enough to turn a difficult 80 minutes into a memorable result.

Individually, the night yielded as much gain as the five league points. SA Under-20 captain Riley Norton got his season back on track in an understated but rather spectacular way.

Norton, who played for the Springboks at lock against the Barbarians in June, had been out for the past three months with a torn hamstring. He was originally picked to start at lock for the Stormers, but the late withdrawal of Roos and Marcel Theunissen meant a shift to No 7 flank.

He was outstanding in the role, and this kind of versatility would have Stormers coach John Dobson and national coach Rassie Erasmus beaming.

Erasmus raved about Norton’s maturity, leadership and potential to be a future Springbok captain. He has all the qualities to lead the next wave of Stormers.

Norton led the carry count with 20, one more than loose-forward Hacjivah Dayimani and two more than hooker André-Hugo Venter. He also made 14 tackles.

Old hands Ruhan Nel (outside centre), Warwick Gelant (fullback) and Neethling Fouche always provide the glue for the Stormers, and there were exciting cameo performances from the young halfback pairing of Ezekiel Ngobeni and Yaqeen Ahmed and replacement hooker Vernon Paulo.

The Stormers led this match 56 minutes to 16, enjoyed 62% possession and had 84% possession in the final 10 minutes. They also forced Connacht to make 87 more tackles.

The lineout, scrum and defensive returns were all in the 90%, but their inability to convert in the red zone was a repeat of so many matches’ last season.

The victors had 15 entries into the 22-metre area and averaged just 1.9 points.

Venter, the starting hooker, produced a powerful and complete performance to be named player of the match. He was strong in the carry, influential at the breakdown in winning turnover penalties, and part of a dominant Stormers set-piece.