Libbok stars as Stormers douse Dragons fire

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Manie Libbok marked his return to the DHL Stormers lineup with a man-of-the-match performance in a bonus-point victory over Dragons on Saturday afternoon.

Fresh from making his debut for the Springboks on the end of year tour of Europe, Libbok scored 17 points to steer the Stormers to a 34-26 victory over Dragons in the Cape side’s first game as the hosts at Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.

The game was almost a repeat of last week’s win over Scarlets, in that the Stormers turned on the style in the first half, but failed to sustain the same accuracy in the second. Instead it was Dragons who did most of the running after half time, as the Stormers lowered their intensity, having already secured the bonus point in the first half.

While the defending Vodacom URC champions should be wary of the pattern that’s emerging in their performances, they will be full of confidence when they take off for France next week to battle Clermont in their Champions Cup debut.

The Stormers flew into a 14-0 lead in the first half, thanks to two maul tries from hometown hero Junior Pokomela and the ever-improving Joseph Dweba.

The hosts signalled their intent to thrill from the get-go and scored one of the tries of the season in the 22nd minute when Ruhan Nel marked his return from injury by dotting down.

When Libbok ran in from the halfway line for a sensational solo try, it looked as the Stormers were in for a big victory, but Dragons gave themselves a glimmer of hope with an intercept try just before the break.

That glimmer turned into a ray of sunshine as the visitors rallied to score three tries in the second half to bank one log point from the defeat.

Photo: Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix 

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Dylan Jack