• Fixtures
• Results

Stormers add to Aussie misery

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:04

Two-try hero: Stormers wing Bryan Habana - Pic: Rian Botes

The Stormers heaped more misery on Australian rugby Saturday - a day in which all of their teams were beaten on the road - with the Cape Town franchise smashing the Waratahs 27-6 at Newlands.

The Stormers' impressive three tries to nil win follow earlier humbling experiences for Aussie sides - with the Hurricanes destroying the Western Force 47-22 and the defending champion Bulls recording an even more impressive 50-32 victory over the Brumbies.

Cape Town is not Johannesburg; Newlands is not Ellis Park; this was not the 18-try romp that there was in Johannesburg on Friday for one excellent reason - the defence, both sides' defence but above all that of the Stormers who knocked Waratahs down like ninepins as the men from New South Wales came battling back in search of a try. They did have a great chance at the start of the match but really did not look like scoring a try.

In fact how Lachlan Turner did not score in the first minute is a matter of wonder. From the first scrum of the match, which was early, Drew Mitchell scythed through the Stormers' defence for the best break of the match. Into the Stormers 22 he raced but his pass to his right was wayward and Sosene Anesi just managed to stop nit getting out. Kurtley Beale went back to a bad pass and then chipped  deliciously to his right. Lachie Turner ran onto a kind bounce but as he sought to swerve inside the covering Ricky Januarie Bryan Habana pounced on his from behind. The Waratahs bashed and Tatafu Polota-Nau was close but when Beale was penalised for going in at the side of a tackle, a penalty relived the pressure.

The determined defence then was characteristic of the Stormers' performance that left the Waratahs try-less. The Waratahs must have ended the match sore, for the Stormers' tackling was not just to contain but was an aggressive weapon and it went for all of them from Tiaan Liebenberg through Januarie to Joe Pietersen.

It was not a match of much kicking by these energetic, athletic sides, but it was also not a match of great continuity. There were too many handling errors for that, admittedly often in devastating tackles.

The Waratahs were first to score. Anesi countered off a Januarie kick and Andries Bekker folded over the tackle It was a straightforward kick for Berrick Barnes. 3-0 after 17 minutes even though those 17 minutes had belonged mainly to the Stormers.

Pietersen kicked a penalty out for line-out five metres from the Waratahs' line. The maul is a profitable ploy from the Stormers but they found the Waratahs' way of lying down in the path of the maul, pulling legs and going in at funny places frustrating. So this time they gave up the maul and began to bash. Januarie was close and then François Louw was over in a right bundles of players of both sides. The referee referred the matter to the television match official and, because he could see that the ball was grounded, asked  if there was any reason not to award the try. The TMO examined it at length and could see nothing wrong. Pietersen converted and the Stormers led 7-3 after 30 minutes, a lead they augmented.

The Stormers' ball retention was good but so was the Waratahs' defence and the most promising try-opportunity in the half came when François Louw burst down the middle. But a penalty for hands in a defeated scrum and then against Phil Waugh at a tackle, put the Stormers ahead 13-3 at the break.

The Waratahs started the second half with three points from a tackle penalty and a minute later coughed up seven points.

The Stormers kicked off and the Waratahs gave Palu a charge into the middle of the field some 15 metres from their line. Back the ball came to Beale to kick for touch. He sauntered forward and kicked - right into leaping Habana. The ball bounced towards the Waratahs line with nobody near Habana as he grabbed the ball and swept round to the posts while Newlands erupted in ecstasy. Pietersen converted. 20-6.

The Waratahs now looked jittery and at a scrum in midfield in their own 22 they engaged top soon and were freekicked. The Stormers opted for a scrum with Habana behind it in a flyhalf position. It was a good scrum and Januarie went right and as two men headed for Habana the nuggety scrumhalf broke and then gave to Habana who knifed past three defenders. It was an exquisite try. 27-6 after 54 minutes.

That gave the Stormers their third try and 26 minutes to get the fourth and a bonus point. They seemed to lose interest in that and were content to knock me Waratah down The last 20 minutes of the match were characterised by a stream of seven penalties against them, all at the tackle.

Eventually the game was declared over, substitutes flooded on to get a taste of success and the match ended without a point in the last 26 minutes. Newlands is not Johannesburg.

The Newlands crowd of 37 268 thoroughly enjoyed its Saturday night at the rugby.

Man of the Match: There were several great performances by the Stormers - Andries Bekker who ruled the line-outs and the mauls, took over the captaincy for most of the match after Schalk Burger went off sand got stuck in more than usual; Tiaan Liebenberg who scrums well, throws in well and plays with such zest; Bryan Habana who can do anything he wants to do on a rugby field - run, tackle, kick, jump, defend, attack - anything - and he scored two tries. But our man of the match is the metamorphosed scrumhalf Ricky Januarie who had one of his best game in a long time. He passed without stepping unless there was a purpose to his running, gave a fluent, fast, sympathetic services, kicked well and tackled like a tough man. He is our Man of the Match.

The scorers:

For the Stormers:
Tries: F Louw, Habana 2
Cons: Pietersen 3
Pens: Pietersen 2

For the Waratahs:
Pens: Barnes 2

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 De Kock Steenkamp, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JC Kritzinger.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Eusebio Guinazu, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Lionel Cronjé, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Waratahs: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Will Caldwell, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Hendrik Roodt, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Rory Sidey.

Referee: Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Joey Salmans (South Africa), Jonathon White (New Zealand)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Contact Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Advertising

This site requires cookies to be enabled!

Send Feedback on Rugby365!

News | Tournaments | SA Schools

Copyright © 2009 Primedia Online. All rights reserved. Developed by Primedia Online