Dillyn Leyds scored two tries as Western Stormers stayed on track to win the South African conference by defeating Melbourne Rebels 31-15 in the Super 15 championship on Saturday.
The 22-year-old winger scored late in the first half and early in the second while the home side collected four precious points in Cape Town after building an 18-7 halftime advantage.
Stormers lead the Golden Lions by two points and the Northern Bulls by three with three league rounds left in the southern hemisphere inter-provincial championship.
Photo: EPA
Three South African derbies lie ahead for the Stormers, who host the Central Cheetahs and the Lions before tackling the Coastal Sharks in Durban.
The Australian, New Zealand and South African conference winners, as well as the sides finishing fourth, fifth and sixth overall secure knockout places.
All the pre-match media attention had been on Stormers winger Seabelo Senatla, who had a quiet Super 15 debut this season after starring for South Africa in the Sevens World Series.
Senatla completed the seven-a-side circuit as the leading try scorer with 43, and a nomination for player of the series.
However, it was Leyds on the other wing who stole the show and took the official man-of-the-match award before a 23,000 crowd on a Newlands stadium pitch softened by heavy pre-match rain.
His first try in opening-half stoppage time came gift-wrapped from Rebels hooker Pat Leafa, whose careless pass inside the 22 was intercepted for a soft try. The second try six minutes after halftime was special, and created by one of many powerful scrum shoves from the formidable Stormers pack.
Skipper and No. 8 Duane Vermeulen took the ball forward and scrumhalf Louis Schreuder continued the move before Leyds cut inside a host of Rebels for a memorable score.
Fly-half Demetri Catrakilis converted for a 28-10 lead and while the Melbourne outfit battled bravely, they never seriously challenged the Stormers.
“We enjoyed the game and while a four-try bonus point would have been nice, we will take the win,” Vermeulen said.
“There are three derbies ahead and there is no love lost between South African sides. However, it will help that two of them are in front of our fantastic supporters,” he said.
Outstanding Rebels No. 8 and skipper Scott Higginbotham said: “Reviewing this match will be painful, as we committed many errors.”
Center Damian de Allende was the Stormers’ other try-scorer and Catrakilis claimed 16 points from two conversions and four penalties.
Center Dominic Shipperley and winger Tom English crossed the try-line for the Australian outfit and fullback Mike Harris kicked a conversion and flyhalf Jack Debreczeni a penalty.
LIONS 40, CHEETAHS 17
The Lions roared to a comfortable away triumph over fellow South African Super Rugby franchise the Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.
The win pushed the Lions to 36 points and kept their hopes of an end-of-season playoff berth intact.
The Lions were 23-3 up at the break after two first half tries from Jaco Kriel and Lionel Mapoe.
A third try, dotted down by speedster Courtnall Skosan, made it 30-3 just minutes into the second half, but momentum was then lost when Lions hooker Robbie Coetzee was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes as a result of a dangerous tackle.
In his absence, the Cheetahs scored through Boom Prinsloo after a driving maul.
Scrum half Faf de Klerk then stretched over for a bonus-point fourth try for the Lions in the 65th minute. Meanwhile, his half back partner Elton Jantjies kept slotting over with the boot, finishing with 20 points having kicked four penalties and four conversions.
Cheetahs flanker Prinsloo scored another consolation try, again from a driving maul 10 minutes from the end, but the Bloemfontein-based team have now lost five of seven home matches this season.
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