Stormers get their mojo back
Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:14
Big hits: The Stormers defended well against the Reds
The Stormers finally found the form they have been searching for on Saturday to record a 34-16 bonus-point victory over the Reds in their Super 14 clash in Brisbane.
The Capetonians ran in four great tries to two from the Reds, who were simply outclassed on the day.
The Stormers' preparation for their clash with the Reds in Brisbane wasn't exactly plain sailing, but it was a match that the visitors simply had to win. And win they did.
The South Africans certainly started the game full of intent, and their movement looked sharp and assured in the first few minutes. It was clear that they were aiming to be the masters of their own destiny, in stead of just going through the motions.
They ran the ball at pace in those early stages, but it didn't take long before the old bad habits started creeping back into their play. They are clearly a talented bunch, but their execution lets them down at times, and that was evident throughout the match against the Reds.
Poor passing, poor handling, poor kicking - all the basic elements of the game, which are assumed second nature to professional players, seem to go awry for the Stormers when cool heads and good execution are needed.
Peter Grant opened the scoring in the match with a penalty conversion in the 10th minute, to which highly-rated youngster Berrick Barnes replied with a neatly taken drop-goal.
The Stormers kept running the ball wide, and they looked very threatening indeed throughout the match with ball in hand, but again and again they would create openings and half-chances, only to spoil them through a misdirected pass, a fumble or a lapse in concentration.
When they did eventually cross the Reds try-line through Luke Watson, referee Chris Pollock referred to the television match official to see whether Watson had grounded the ball. The replay was inconclusive, mainly because the broadcast director did not show the entire event of Watson's struggle to place the ball, but focused only on the flank's first attempt at grounding the ball.
Then a moment of inspiration - Stormers lock Andries Bekker stretched skywards and managed to pilfer a Reds line-out in their own 22.
Bekker's tap-back fell in an empty space, and the bounce beat everybody except Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant, who strolled through untouched to score close to the posts.
He converted his own try, and the Stormers led 10-3.
But the Reds were clearly not going to go quietly. They struck back through fullback Chris Latham, after a spell of sustained pressure deep in Stormers territory.
Barnes missed the conversion, and the rest of the first period remained scoreless, as the visitors went into the break with a 10-8 lead.
Plenty more was to come in the second half, as the Stormers continued their adventurous, attacking approach to the game.
Grant and Barnes traded a penalty for a drop-goal respectively, before another fantastic chance went abegging for the visitors. Once again the Stormers stole a defensive line-out from the Reds, but scrumhalf Ricky Januarie knocked on.
The Reds then made the Newlands-based side pay for their profligacy, when Leroy Houston crashed over for a try. Once again Barnes missed the conversion, but the Reds were now in the lead for the first time in this match.
Anyone could have been forgiven for thinking that the Stormers were now teetering on the brink of a meltdown, having squandered various scoring opportunities and trailing in the match.
But they responded in splendid fashion.
The enigmatic Schalk Brits was the catalyst as the Stormers suddenly found an extra gear to leave the Reds trailing.
The hooker showed all his footballing ability by bursting through a gap, racing 40 metres downfield, and popping a great pass to Francois Louw, who had stormed up in support. Louw, in turn, provided an ever better pass to Luke Watson in the tackle, and Watson evaded the last defender to dot down under the posts, with Grant converting.
The Stormers were now in overdrive. They kept chipping and knocking at the Reds defence, and it was paying off.
Ross Skeate was also getting in on the act, and skipped a tackle on the far touchline before hurtling downfield. He threw a great pass to substitute prop Brok Harris, who headed for goal, but Chris Latham managed to drag him into touch.
It was clear that the Reds defence was creaking, and the Stormers took much confidence from that. On 71 minutes, they conjured up the try that sealed the result.
Chris Latham got his hands on a turnover ball, and tried to kick downfield. Unfortunately for the home side, his kick was aimed straight at the midriff of Stormers No.15 Conrad Jantjes, who held onto a reflex catch. Jantjes released the ball, and Andries Bekker broke the Reds line once more. The lock then offloaded to Dylan des Fountain, who slipped a tackle, and tried to feed the ball to the overlapping Bolla Conradie. The pass was behind the scrumhalf, but such was the lack of cover defence that Conradie still had time to stop, go back and fetch the loose ball, and score in the corner.
Peter Grant slotted a fantastic conversion from the touch-line to make it 27-16 for his team.
The Reds were now chasing shadows, and there was even time for the visitors to complete a heartening second-half performance, and earn a bonus point in the process.
They did this via a slick backline move that involved at least three quick, accurate passes out to right wing Tonderai Chavhanga, who scored easily. The move looked like a training ground exercise, such was the ease with which the Reds cover was breached.
Peter Grant put the icing on a polished individual performance, by goaling the conversion for a personal tally of 19 points in the match.
Man of the match: The amazing range of ability of Schalk Brits was evident on the day. He is a frustrating player to have and can be very inconsistent, but today he proved his worth.
Moment of the match: Brits's break, run and pass to Francois Louw, who put Luke Watson away to score. The Stormers never looked back after this moment.
Villain of the match: Charlie Fetoai wins the dubious award for his spear-tackle on Schalk Brits, which interestingly only earned him a warning from the referee.
Scorers:
For the Reds:
Tries: Latham, Houston
DGs: Barnes 2
For the Stormers:
Tries: Grant, Watson, Conradie, Chavhanga
Cons: Grant 4
Pens: Grant 2
Reds: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Brando Va'aulu, 13 Peter Hynes, 12 Morgan Turinui, 11 Clinton Schifcofske, 10 Berrick
Barnes, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 David Croft, 6 John Roe (captain), 5 James Horwill, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Dayna Edwards, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Van Humphries, 19 AJ Gilbert, 20 Will Genia, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Charlie Fetoai.
Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean De Villiers (captain), 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Gio Aplon, 22 Dylan Des Fountain.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Simon Moore (Australia)
Television match official: Steve
Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Gus Erickson (Australia)
By Phil Coetzer
