Waratahs steal late winner at Newlands
The four tries to three win not only restored some much-needed pride for the Australian franchises, but also sealed a day of horrors for South African teams.
After the hammerings the Cheetahs and Lions took earlier in the day, the Waratahs' win in Cape Town would have rubbed salt into the festering South African wounds.
The Stormers were forced to play the final quarter with 14 men, after wing Leolin Zas was sent off with a red card for playing a man in the air.
The home side looked to have done enough to secure victory, but a late try from Michael Hooper saw the visitors take the honours in a hard-fought battle.
It was just their third defeat of the season, but the bonus point they earned sees them keep their place at the top of Africa One conference.
The Stormers took the game to the Waratahs early on and won two penalties in opposition territory, but both attempts on goal from flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis were wide of the mark.
Instead it was the Waratahs who opened the scoring, as centre Kurtley Beale darted through to score the first try, which went unconverted for a 5-0 lead.
However, the Stormers did not trail for long as a great flip pass from Nic Groom saw Schalk Burger score under the poles to put them 7-5 up.
The Stormers' second try was sparked by a break from Pieter-Steph du Toit who surged into the Waratahs 22, and the big lock was on hand to finish it off as well as he crashed over from close range shortly afterwards.
The visitors had the final say before half-time, as an Israel Folau try saw them trail the Stormers 12-14 at the break.
The hosts were first to score in the second half through a Du Plessis penalty, and the Waratahs responded soon afterwards with a penalty of their own from Foley.
The flyhalves exchanged penalties once again before the Stormers were struck a major blow when wing Leolin Zas was shown a red card for colliding with another player in the air.
Despite that setback, the Stormers were next to score through another Du Plessis penalty, but the Waratahs would have the lead soon afterwards as wing Rob Horne crossed for their third try to put them 25-23 ahead.
However, the Stormers refused to lie down and after a powerful maul had driven them into the opposition 22, Du Toit took matters into his own hands and powered over for a try between the poles.
The Waratahs would have the final say when skipper Michael Hooper forced his way over for a try at the death which saw them claim a slender victory.
Man of the match: Cheslin Kolbe had his moments of magic and Jean-Luc du Plessis bounced back very nicely from a nervous start. Schalk Burger was busy, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Nizaam Carr also made massive contributions. However, the most effective Stormers player was lock Pieter-Steph du Toit. Michael Hooper showed the size of his heart and scored the match-winning try. Midfielders Israel Folau and Kurtley Beale showed the dangerous the Waratahs have in their backline. Of those Beale was the best and our man of the match.
The scorers:
For the Stormers:
Tries: Burger, Kolbe, Du Toit
Cons: Du Plessis 3
Pens: Du Plessis 3
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Beale, Folau, Horne, Hooper
Cons: Foley 3
Pens: Foley 2
Red card: Leolin Zas (Stormers, 56 – foul play, playing man in the air)
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Huw Jones.
Waratahs: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Reece Robinson, 13 Israel Folau, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Will Skelton, 4 David Dennis, 3 Tom Robertson, 2 Hugh Roach, 1 Paddy Ryan.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Matt Carraro.
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
