The Bulls made a huge statement about their silverware intentions in round 15 of the United Rugby Championship with their away win over Munster, but there was also a statement of a different kind made by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and the Stormers.
The Stormers flyhalf’s three tries scored against Connacht were all sensational and his entire performance and demeanour provided further indelible confirmation that not only is he one of those rare gems who stands a level above his peers, he is also a player who is going to put bums on seats as his career unfolds.
Putting bums on seats is something the Stormers as a team do well and the big crowds that have attended their home games — even while they languished on the log — does bring into focus a potential debate around silverware versus entertainment value as a measurement of professional sporting success.
While coach John Dobson admitted he was unhappy with the performance and had harsh words with his players in the dressing room after a game in which they were saved by the TMO, most fans I was in contact with after the game had a very different view.
“The Stormers are going to have to sort out their defence but that was a brilliant game of rugby,” said one person, who is normally quite critical, in a WhatsApp message. There were more that I encountered during the rest of the long weekend who were similarly enthused. For them the fact the Stormers nearly lost a game they should have been expected to win fairly comfortably was less a talking point than Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s individual performance and the sheer aesthetic appeal the Stormers brought when they had ball in hand.
It is also worth speculating on whether the Stormers’ failure to put Connacht away, and the way the visitors were allowed to fight back to make it a close game and force a tense finish, might have helped the cause of attracting patrons to future games.
Fans love a tight finish and they tend to be remembered and act as a draw to fans to come back. And though I detest the way the use of technology robs the sport of spontaneity, the drama of having the TMO have to adjudicate on that last try might not have been a bad thing either.
It wasn’t the first time a game at Cape Town Stadium has had a dramatic, tense conclusion this season. In fact, their previous appearance in front of their home fans was the north-south derby against the Bulls, where the Stormers scored what looked to be a last-gasp winning try only for Clayton Blommetjies to miss the easy conversion that would have clinched it.
That game was played in front of a full house, as was the previous derby against the Sharks, where the Stormers won in dramatic fashion with a late try.
Entertainment, and not just winning and losing and the currency of silverware, may have more say in determining the popularity of an event or team than is assumed. That has long been a subject of debate in Cape rugby, as evidenced back in the 2012 Super Rugby season. The Stormers finished top of the overall log that year but were pilloried by their own fans and critics for the heavily defence orientated game plan that got them there.
In terms of wins and losses and final log position, it was the Stormers’ most successful Super Rugby season but their failure to conform to the assumed rugby DNA of the region was almost more of a talking point.
This season the Stormers have picked up try-scoring bonus points in every Cape Town game, even the one they lost to the Bulls. That emphasis on entertainment is helping inspire a connection between supporters and team that may transcend results and log position.
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