Leicester 35
Stormers 26
The chances of Handré Pollard sending his compatriots home empty-handed always felt pretty high and, sure enough, 20 points from their high-profile fly-half was enough to secure a valuable bonus-point victory for the hosts.
The coup de grace was slightly delayed, however, as an initially under-par Leicester flirted with embarrassment before Pollard's haul and a couple of tries from the powerful centre Solomone Kata tipped the contest towards the Tigers. It was not until Pollard converted his own 74th-minute try to put his side 30-23 ahead that normal service looked like being restored, with the winger Josh Bassett sliding over for the crucial fourth try in the final minute.
The spirited Stormers could at least take pride from their performance in adversity. This was supposed to be a home banker with John Dobson, the Stormers head coach, even admitting before kick-off he "felt bad" about picking a depleted team for the opening game of a supposedly prestigious competition. Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse, Joseph Dweba, Evan Roos and Warrick Gelant, among others, were all missing with the visitors due to host La Rochelle back in Cape Town this weekend.
Denne historien er fra December 11, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra December 11, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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