Stormers beat Bristol 49-12 in Champions Cup opener

The Stormers opened their Champions Cup campaign with a 49-12 win over Bristol Bears on October 17 at Cape Town Stadium, surviving a 20-minute red card before pulling clear in the closing stages. The hosts scored seven tries in the match, while Bristol crossed twice. Leolin Zas and Jonathan Roche each scored twice for the Stormers, and Seabelo Senatla and Warrick Gelant were also among the try scorers. Match scoring summaries credited Bristol’s tries to Joe Owen and Sol Moody. Senatla opened the scoring in the eighth minute, then helped set up Zas for the Stormers’ second try. Bristol responded through Owen, but Roche restored the home side’s two-score advantage before halftime. The Stormers led 21-7 at the break. Hooker JJ Kotzé was shown a 20-minute red card before the interval for a dangerous tackle. In the second half, Zas received a yellow card for a high tackle, temporarily leaving the Stormers with 13 players. Bristol took advantage of the numerical edge when replacement Sol Moody scored from a maul, narrowing the score to 21-12. Roche scored again soon afterward, with the Stormers capitalizing on a Bristol handling error. The home side then added tries through...