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The Stormers put on a controlled and serene performance to claim a deserved 30-13 victory over the Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
Under the Stormers name, this was the last game in Newlands for the Cape side, who will travel to Durban to face the Sharks next weekend before Western Province takes the season to the Currie Cup.
In that context, and for what it’s worth, this was certainly a very satisfying result for the hosts, as they found a particular favor at the time of the scrum and never seemed in danger of coming out with anything other than a winning result.
The victory also has the Stormers overtaking the Sharks to second place in the Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked standings, and they are now just two points behind the Vodacom Bulls with one round remaining.
Although the first half was far from a smooth affair, the Stormers would have been pleased with the control they enforced over procedures, allowing them to achieve an early scrum ascent, while Damian Willemse kicked smoothly.
The lone attempt in that opening stanza came from some opportunistic play by scrum half Herschel Jantjies returning as he shot down the unmanned blind side of a ruck to pass unopposed.
Ultimately, the Cheetahs simply didn’t have enough forward ball to jump-start their game, and they would have been very frustrated when two rare opportunities in the red zone finally fell through.
As things stood, the first half largely followed the path of the Stormers, who opened up a useful 13-3 lead after a superb long-range drop goal from Willemse just before half-time.
The Stormers extended their lead early in the second half when Juarno Augustus finished off a brilliant attempt that was created in large part thanks to some magical touches from Warrick Gelant.
However, that five-point ultimately paled in comparison to the dose of ‘Specmagic’ Cheetahs wing Rosko Specman served up when he produced, hands down, the try of the season with a chip, chase and an acrobatic finish. in minute 64.
It was a piece of individual brilliance that helped bring the Cheetahs back within seven points of the Stormers, but then came the scrum power of a World Cup winning front row to secure another set piece penalty that was duly scored by Willemse. .
The midfielder then became a supplier when he delivered a delicious volley for Gelant to score and complete a comfortable victory for his team.
Stormers – Attempts: Herschel Jantjies, Juarno Augustus, Warrick Gelant. Conversions: Damian Willemse (3). Penalties: Willemse (2). Drop goal: Willemse.
Cheetahs – Test: Rosko Specman. Conversion: Tian Schoeman. Penalties: Schoeman (2).
Stormers – 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff (c).
Subs (from): 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Neethling Fouche, 20 Chris van Zyl, 21 David Meihuizen, 22 Ben-Jason Dixon, 23 Godlen Masimla, 24 Kade Wolhuter, 25 Michal Hazner, 26 Leolin Zas.
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Junior Pokomela (c), 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais.
Subs: 16 Boan Venter, 17 Marnus van der Merwe, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 Chris Smit.
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