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Stormers ease clear in the end

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:11

Injury scare: Stormers captain Schalk Burger

The Stormers beat a Boland XV 47-13. Schalk Burger came off injured after 14 minutes but will be fit to play next week.

That's the most salient rugby news in a nutshell, but the big occasion in Green Point on Saturday was about more than just rugby.

The first rugby match at the new Cape Town Stadium was billed as a festival and lived up to the hype, certainly off the field. It was a special occasion for Cape Town, clearly enjoyed by an enthusiastic crowd packed into the lower two tiers of the stands.

The Premier and Mayor received loud applause when they walked onto the field, the players massive applause when they ran on, and the crowd greeted Bryan Habana's appearance as a second half substitute with cheers usually reserved for pop stars.

There were logistical problems, as may be expected when a Stadium is staging only its second event ever, but the 40,000 spectators smiled and cheered and joined in Mexican waves.

The players said they enjoyed the closeness of the stands and the big, noisy crowd, and referee Mark Lawrence enthused about the "world-class stadium" and the "fantastic surface".

If the truth be told, the most ordinary thing about the whole day was the rugby.

Perhaps a full-strength Stormers team playing a tri-series game against the Western Force or the Sharks would have been more fitting as an opening rugby festival at the new Cape Town Stadium, since a largely second-string Stormers squad playing against a valiant, determined, but essentially limited Boland XV was never going to be a rugby match for the ages.

Full credit to the team called the Boland Invitational XV. Coach Eugene Eloff, 'no longer required' by the Lions in mid-season last year, has already got his squad looking more like an organised, cohesive rugby team than they did at any stage in 2009.

They show a direction and purpose, allied with an enthusiasm and resolve, which should make them competitive this year, and perhaps even bring them back from the First Division to which they've been relegated, into the top eight of the Currie Cup.

They played far better than they did in their practice match against UCT two weeks ago.

Their discipline has improved and they endeavoured to adhere to the structure which coach Eloff is trying to implement. They were under pressure in a few scrums and their backs' hands let them down too often, but a try from a build-up of pressure, some tight defence - until they could no longer close the gaps - plus one very effective good driving maul from a line-out, and the way they upset a few Stormers line-outs, will have encouraged them.

The Stormers were slow out of the blocks, with a decidedly mediocre first half. They failed to string phases together, lost the ball in contact, and their line-outs were nowhere near the asset they had been in the tri-series with Tiaan Liebenberg throwing in and Andries Bekker managing the line-outs.

Neither Deon Fourie nor his jumpers and their supporters will have been happy with their line-out contribution.

The Stormers looked a more accomplished team in the second half, with improved ball retention and better continuity in building phases. They managed to spread the ball wide into space more often and looked a different team to the very ordinary first half combination.

In the fourth minute of the match hooker Deon Fourie made amends for an inept first Stormers line-out when he showed power and a fine turn of speed down the left touchline to score the first try, from a move initiated by Fabian Juries and carried on by Frikkie Welsh and Schalk Burger.

Boland flyhalf Dean Grant goaled a penalty for Boland four minutes later to reduce the lead to 5-3.

Schalk Burger went off after 14 minutes to sit on the bench with an ice-pack on his shoulder and Pieter Myburgh came on in his place.

Three minutes later Willem de Waal goaled a penalty to put the Stormers 8-3 up.

They went 15-3 ahead when from a 5m scrum, Pieter Louw fed Ricky Januarie, who ran infield towards his right. Paul Bosch ran a decoy line from inside centre and Januarie fed Dylan des Fountain motoring in at pace outside him from the left wing. Des Fountain scored from the neatly executed planned move and De Waal converted.

Grant goaled a second penalty and then Boland were rewarded for sustained attacking effort, scoring their only try of the game when lock Johann Peacock caught the ball at the back of a line-out 5m from the Stormers goal-line and crossed for the easiest try he'll ever score.

Grant converted and the Stormers lead was reduced to an unhappy 15-13.

A penalty goal by De Waal made it 18-13 at half-time.

In the second half the Stormers looked more like the team they had hoped to be all game, and Boland's brave defence could no longer withstand the attack.

In the 52nd minute Paul Bosch went off with a dislocated elbow, clearly in pain, and with his first touch of the ball his replacement, UCT prodigy Tim Whitehead, set Frikkie Welsh up for a try in the corner.

In the 61st minute, from a skilful attacking crosskick by Lionel Cronje (on for De Waal at flyhalf), Sireli Naqelevuki scored, and then five minutes later Ricky Januarie dotted down after two consecutive free kicks were conceded by Boland. This time Cronje converted to give the Stormers a 35-13 lead.

Pieter Louw, one of the standout players on the day, had another great run and Frikkie Welsh sent Bolla Conradie (on at scrumhalf for Januarie) in for a try. Cronje goaled to stretch the lead to 42-13.

The last try of the game, coming in the 80th minute, was initiated by Juries, carried on by Louw - whose support play all day was an eye-opener - and rounded off by Des Fountain.

In the end 47-13 was a fair reflection of the difference in skill between the two teams, but doesn't really do the passionate determination of the courageous Boland team justice.

Stormers players whose impressive performances would have added to coach Allister Coetzee's selection headache when he sits down to choose his squad for the Super 14 and his 22 for the game against the Lions next week, include the ubiquitous Louw, lock Anton van Zyl , and Naqelevuki, Welsh and Cronje among the backs.

Bosch looked good before his injury and Whitehead showed glimpses as to why messrs Coetzee and Fleck regard his skills and vision so highly.

Happily for players and spectators, there were only 18 penalties in the game. This was a significant reduction in the number of penalties awarded in the tri-series games. There were fewer reset scrums too.

Scorers:

For Boland:

Try: Peacock
Con: Grant
Pens: Grant 2

For the Stormers:

Tries: Fourie, Des Fountain 2, Welsh, Naqelevuki, Januarie, Conradie
Cons: De Waal, Cronjé 2
Pens: De Waal 2

Teams:

Boland: 15 Jacquin Jansen, 14 Whalied Heyns, 13 PJ Vermeulen, 12 Lionel Cornelius, 11 Cornal Hendricks, 10 Dean Grant, 9 Neil Papier, 8 Zandré Jordaan, 7 Hilton Lobberts, 6 Franzel September, 5 Grant le Roux, 4 Johann Peacock, 3 Rossouw Kruger, 2 Ashton Constand, 1 Janro van Niekerk (captain).
Replacements - from: Raoul Larson, Clemen Lewis, Sphelelo Mayabe, André du Toit, Wesley Kotzé, Angelo Brinkhuys, David Hendricks, Manie Adams, Llewellyn Adonis, Danré Gerber, Jeremy Plaatjies, Hyron Thysse, Willie le Roux.

Stormers: 15 Fabian Juries, 14 Sireli Naqelevuki, 13 Frikkie Welsh, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Dylan des Fountain, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pieter Louw, 7 Yaya Hartzenberg, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 JC Kritzinger, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements - from: Calllie Visagie, Eusebio Guinazu, Martin Muller, Pieter Myburgh, Conraad Britz, Bolla Conradie, Lionel Cronjé, Tim Whitehead, Duane Vermeulen, Bryan Habana, Juan de Jongh, Gio Aplon

Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant referees: Matt Kemp, Marc van Zyl

By Len Kaplan

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