The Stormers delivered a commanding 33-7 URC victory over Ulster at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, with 20-year-old flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed and veteran captain Ruhan Nel combining for the bonus-point try with nine minutes remaining.
Ahmed, selected into the Springbok touring squad earlier in the week, converted Nel's try to make it 26-7, then added a wriggle-through effort from close range to finish with a try and four conversions. Centre Markus Muller, another youngster in the mix for Bok honours if he gets onto the field during the upcoming Nations Championship away leg, also impressed.
The victory was built on the Stormers' driving maul, which had been equally decisive in their win over the Sharks three weeks earlier. Sustained maul pressure in the first half drew a yellow card for Ulster's Canan Knox, and on the half-hour mark Cobus Reinach fed Paul de Villiers — named man of the match — who released Tuks Mchunu, whose offload set up JD Schickerling to open the scoring. No 8 Evan Roos then put the result beyond doubt seven minutes into the second half with an 80-metre solo try.
Ulster's only points came through a Dave McCann try in the first half, though they had a earlier effort ruled out by the TMO for a knock-on on the line.
Despite the margin, director of rugby John Dobson will have concerns. The Stormers conceded 14 turnovers in the first half alone and were repeatedly undone by players losing their footing on the stadium turf, handing Ulster field position that nearly resulted in a 14-0 deficit before the Stormers regrouped.