The Stormers powered past Cardiff 44-21 in their URC quarterfinal at DHL Stadium on Saturday, booking their first semifinal berth in the competition since 2023, but the victory was overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Springbok flyhalf was hurt as he was tackled crossing the line for a second-half try that extended the lead to 12 points, and he left the field on crutches after the final whistle. His availability for next week's semifinal appears highly unlikely, with a medical assessment still to come.
The Stormers led 21-7 at halftime, having dominated the Cardiff scrum and pinned the Welsh side deep in their own territory for long stretches of the opening period. Cardiff showed considerable resilience, however, clawing back to 26-21 through a James Botham try just before the hour mark — a scoreline that barely reflected the Stormers' territorial and physical dominance.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu's try, set up by Seabelo Senatla catching a badly misdirected Cardiff cross-kick, had stretched the lead to 12 before the Welsh side's brief revival. Cardiff's resistance was ultimately undone by their own discipline and the Stormers scrum: two Cardiff props picked up yellow cards and a third was injured, forcing uncontested scrums for 10 minutes during the decisive final quarter.
Paul de Villiers dotted down from a driving maul to push the lead to 10 points with 15 minutes remaining, before a Rikus Matthee penalty and a JJ Kotze try — set up by a Matthee break from deep — completed the scoring. Senatla also departed with what appeared to be an injury, leaving scrumhalf Imad Khan to cover the wing for a period.
The six-try-to-three win was sweet revenge for the defeat at Cardiff Arms Park a fortnight ago. The Stormers' semifinal opponents and venue will be determined by Saturday night's quarterfinal between Leinster and the Lions.