Stormes flyhalf Abner van Reenen caught the eye by scoring 19 points in his first start in their 44-12 win over the Lions at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Van Reenen made his mark literally from kickoff, starting the game with a great contestable kick that the Stormers won back.
DHL Stormers 44-12 Emirates Lions
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) March 27, 2021
🖐️Five tries at Cape Town Stadium
🏎️In charge from the start
🌈Bring on the Rainbow Cup
👉Full match report https://t.co/3drIjTLOaj#iamastormer #dhldelivers
From there the ball went wide and the pivot toed through a grubber kick for Seabelo Senatla to collect on the left wing.
Senatla then found Ruhan Nel, who passed to Herschel Jantjies on his inside for the first five pointer inside the first minute.
A Nel break in the 15th minute doubled their lead, when Senatla dotted down.
Jantjies then strolled in for his second after Van Reenen created some space for Senatla to break down the left again, with the winger finding Jantjies on his inside.
At 21-0 inside the first quarter, the Stormers knew they had to seal the deal on the win.
Van Reenen added a penalty conversion to make it 24-0 at the break, before a Bongi Mbonambi try off the back of a rolling maul and a Van Reenen drop goal and penalty conversion made it 37-0 in the second half.
After the Lions scored their first try via MJ Pelser, Nel cashed in on a loose ball to make it 44-5, before a Van Reenen tap-back from a chip kick not only saw him yellow carded, but gave the Lions a penalty try also (44-12).
Despite finishing the match in the sin bin, the 22-year-old Van Reenen impressed his coach on the day Dawie Snyman, who says: “I am very happy for Abner.
“He had a good innings… it’s always nice for us if a young player gets an opportunity and he delivers like Abner did.”
Asked if Van Reenen was ready for the Rainbow Cup,
“If you play against Elton Jantjies and the Lions and you do well – even Kade [Wolhuter] last week against the Bulls, the game he had – [then you are ready].
“Obviously there will be bigger games when they will be tested, but we have to make sure that we continue to work hard with these players.
“It’s not always just about them, it’s about the guys that are playing around them that makes their job easier.”