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Stormers through to all-SA Final

Sat, 22 May 2010 20:59

Stormers sublime at Newlands: Captain Schalk Burger leads the charge

The Stormers made it an all-South African Final at Soweto's Orlando Stadium next Saturday, when they smashed the Waratahs 25-6 in their semifinal at Newlands.

It will be another historic occasion as the Stormers try to unseat the defending champion Bulls in the first rugby Final ever to be played it the iconic soccer stadium in Soweto next week.

The Stormers earned their right to play in their first-ever Super Rugby Final when they scored their second comprehensive win over the men from Sydney.

It was not a brilliant match at all. Partly that was because you had the best defence in Super 14 against the second best defence and the best defence won. It deserved to win, and knowing that all it needed to do was win to get to the final it did not seek more.

The Waratahs, who may just be the drabbest team in the Super 14, did nothing different. They kicked and occasionally went though phases going nowhere in particular. They had one chance to score a try but a  knock-on by Tom Carter kiboshed that. Instead it was the Stormers who scored the try that took them into a 13-6 lead after 26 minutes and then they did not have to hunt for more. Just keeping out of trouble and kicking their penalties were enough to take them to Soweto.

As a result there was not a lot to write home about.

There was a massive crowd, packing Newlands and it was a Saturday night crowd with all the rowdiness of a party-going mob. some of the noise was great.

They sang a song of the Cape and then did an Olé of Spain. They did a noisy wave of Mexico. They cheered their team - standing ovations from time to time. But, sadly, they also booed their opponents as if hating the opposition is a component of loving your own side.

If you had to choose between the vuvuzelas of Orlando and the boos of Newlands, the vuvuzelas would win. Oh and there were also occasional cheers when there Crusaders scored in Soweto in the desperate hope that they could have an outing to Newlands next week for the Final - a fitting one in which One plays Two on One's field.

The Waratahs made the first attempt to go through phases but the Stormers knocked them down with ferocity./ You cannot phase futilely forever and the Stormers won a turnover and the next thing Drew Mitchell was rescuing with a scrambled kick to touch.

When the Stormers phased, they made inroads into the Waratahs defence and when the visitors were offside Peter Grant made it 6-0 after 8 minutes.

Joe Pietersen ran out of trouble, beating Mitchell and then chipping and catching till Kurtley Beale tackled him high. Berrick Barnes was penalised at a tackle and Grant made it 6-0 but when Andries Bekker tackled a smaller man high, Barnes, who had missed a kick at goal, goaled. 6-3 after 15 minutes.

In another rash of phases Barnes dropped a  goal, 6-6 after 25 minutes. They did not score again in the next 55 minutes.

The Stormers turned the drop goal to profit. Bryan Habana leapt up and won the kick-off. The Stormers went wide right and then came back left where Juan de Jongh cut at speed through a gap and beat four Waratahs with two great sidesteps and lots of speed to score at the posts. 13-6 after 26 minutes.

That was the score that won the match. The Waratahs had more possession and territory in the half but the Stormers played with greater purpose.

The Waratahs' best chance came to score came when bulky Tatafu Polota-Nau burst down the midfield on a counterattack, but then Carter knocked on.

In the space of 16 minutes, Grant kicked four penalty goals to take the score to its conclusion at 25-6 after 67 minutes.

The Waratahs upped their intensity in the tackle when the score was 19-6 but their zest fizzled out.

There were promising moments for the Stormers when Jaque Fourie grubbered and Beale saved and then Grant grubbered and Lachie Turner saved.

From 60 minutes on the two benches were emptied, the result was cut-and-dried and there was nothing to write home about.

Man of the Match: There was everywhere-express Gio Aplon and there was calm, effective Peter Grant but our Man of the Match is Schalk Burger who tackled more than anybody else, ran more than anybody else and has added effective passing to his repertoire of courage.

Moment of the Match: Juan de Jongh's try - a jewel set against drab foil

Villain of the Match: Everyone of those people who shamed a famous ground with their booing.

The scorers:

For the Stormers:
Try: De Jongh
Con: Grant
Pens: Grant 6

For the Waratahs:
Pen: Barnes
DG: Barnes

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Eusebio Guinazu, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Willem de Waal, 22 Tim Whitehead.

Waratahs: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Patrick McCutcheon, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Dan Palmer.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Chris Thomson, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Rory Sidey.

Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

By Paul Dobson, at Newlands

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