Super Stormers trounce Cheetahs
Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:04
Fijian flier: Sireli Naqelevuki scores his second try
The Stormers continued on their merry march with a highly entertaining 34-22 Super 14 victory over the Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday.
It was a match of two halves with the Stormers producing a scintillating display of running rugby in the first half, earning their four-try bonus point on the stroke of half-time.
But the Cheetahs came out firing in the second half and scored three tries of their own but the Stormers did enough in the first half to secure the five points.
Jean de Villiers men are now in with a genuine shot of making the play-offs with four home games still to come.
There were 45 000 people at Newlands on a beautiful autumn afternoon and they gave their side a standing welcome back from their Australasian odyssey, and at the end they stood to them again to applaud them off the field and into a cheerful evening.
There had been much speculation about the match beforehand - that Newlands was a happy hunting ground for the Cheetahs of Bloemfontein, that the Cheetahs, so unlucky so often, had turned the corner with their resounding victory over the Reds. If the Stormers were expected to be stagestruck and in awe, they were wrong. But the Cheetahs looked as if they were overawed. They messed up the first two kick-offs.
The Stormers kicked off and the Cheetahs let it bounce between Tewis de Bruyn and Jongi Nokwe into touch not far from their line. They won the line-out but in slovenly fashion and the Stormers drove Adriaan Strauss into touch-in-goal for a five-metre scrum. From the scrum Peter Grant charged and two Cheetahs brought him down but Enrico Januarie snapped up the ball, darted and stretched for a try near the posts. Grant converted. 7-0 in under two minutes.
The Cheetahs then kicked the kick-off directly into touch.
Both sides were running, the Stormers more than the Cheetahs and to greater purpose. The Cheetahs tried kicking and the Stormers coped with it. They tried going wide and the Stormers coped with it. Then the Stormers went wide down the right, drew Hennie de Villiers and sent to Andries Bekker on the right wing. The tallest of men ran down the wing in manner reminiscent of his nearly-as-tall father and, with Adriaan Strauss hanging onto his shirttails, dived for the corner. The television match official, who had a busy time in the right-hand corner (as the Stormers looked at the field), took a long, long time to confirm that a try had been scored. 12-0 after 13 minutes.
Two penalties against the Stormers in quick succession set the Cheetahs on the attack. They opted for a line-out the first time but when Luke Watson tackled high in front of his posts they allowed Jacques-Louis Potgieter to kick a penalty goal. 12-3.
Bekker then put Tonderai Chavhanga away but Daniller managed to stop him. When Potgieter kicked into Stormer territory for no good reason, Chavhanga started running and kept on running, swerving, stride long, body slung low. He went for some 40 metres and set the Cheetahs scurrying.
Meyer Bosman lobbed a great diagonal that went into touch near the Stormers' cornerpost. The home side won the line-out but Schalk Brits knocked on. That gave the Cheetahs a five-metre scrum and they battered at the line, right on the line, till Tewis de Bruyn went stamping and incurred a penalty.
What an asinine thing to do!
Form a line-out on their left, Watson ran off the tail. Quick ball went wide right and Chavhanga was over in the corner but the diligent TMO decided that this time he had had a foot in touch.
From a line-out Jean de Villiers produced the midfield break of the match and raced downfield, moving to his right to send Conrad Jantjes over in the corner in Eddie Fredericks's tackle around the neck. This time the TMO had no doubt that a try had been scored and this time Grant converted from touch. 17-3 after 36 minutes. And still it was not the end.
The Stormers won a Cheetah line-out on the right and went far left and then far right. The ball came back to Grant who lobbed a high diagonal to the left where Sireli Naqelevuki loped forward, jumped slightly, juggled above De Bruyn, caught the ball and dropped to ground. 24-3, a bonus point and half-time.
As Naka Drotské said afterwards, the Cheetahs were beaten in the first half.
They were more beaten when Gcobani Bobo had a sharp run down the left wing. From there the ball went far right and was on its way back when Schalk Burger threw a pass to Naqelevuki who sloughed off two would-be tacklers as easy as you like, brushed past Daniller and scored at the posts. 31-3 after 45 minutes.
The rest of the second half was a different matter. The Stormers lost structure and intensity. They changed personnel and the Cheetahs started coming back at them. In the rest of the match - 35 minutes of match - the Stormers scored three points, the Cheetahs 19! The Cheetahs were a try shy of a bonus point at the end of the match but could have got there.
They had a five-metre line-out but the Stormers shoved them away and Bekker came storming away with the ball to set Chavhanga running. The speedy wing kicked ahead and the Cheetahs were defending.
Then the Stormers were at the Cheetahs' line but the Free Staters came away and the Stormers were defending on their own line.
A second five-metre line-out brought a reward for Heinrich Brüssow was able to plunge over at the feet of Adriaan Fondse. 31-8.
The Stormers attacked and Juan Smith intercepted and strode long-legged down the field as Chavhanga gave chase. Realising the obvious truth that Chavhanga was faster Smith kicked but the ball rolled into the Stormers in-goal where Chavhanga got there with easel.
The Cheetahs attacked again but JW Jonker was tackled and failed by a centimetres or two to ground the ball but Conrad Barnard was on hand to score the try, which the TMO confirmed, and convert it. 31-15 with 17 minutes to play.
The Cheetahs went off-side and Grant made the score 34-13 with 16 minutes to play. Only a miracle could produce a Cheetah victory, and there was not miracle at the Newlands shrine, but there was a fine try when the Stormers lost the ball going left and the Cheetahs attacked down their left. Stately Smith took out two defenders as he fed the ball inside to Richardt Strauss who had an easy runt to the line. 34-22.
The Cheetahs came back in the attack but Ross Skeate won their line-out and set Chavhanga running again.
The crowd were now happily singing Olé, olé.
Man of the Match: Tonderai Chavhanga. There was a s time when he was labelled an athlete, nit a rugby player. Give him an overlap and he will score, people believed. He is now the complete rugby player on attack and defence. He works hard, tackles, has a good boot and safe hands and he is the most elusive runner in South Africa.
There was a little Man of the afternoon at half-time. The local newspaper, Die Burger, runs a kicking competition. A small boy, barefooted before 45 000 kicked the ball over and won R2 000.
Moment of the Match: Tonderai Chavhanga's electric run off Jacques-Louis Portgieter's break.
Villain of the match: For silliness to the detriment of all the rest of his side - Tewis de Bruyn.
The Scorers:
For the Stormers:
Tries: Januarie, Bekker, Jantjes, Naqelevuki 2
Cons: Grant 3
Pen: Grant
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Brüssow, Barnard, Strauss
Cons: Barnard 2
Pen: Potgieter
Teams:
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 Luke Watson, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Bolla Conradie, 22 Tony Brown 22 Gio Aplon.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duanne Vermeulen, 7 endro Scholtz, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 Rory Duncan, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Bees Roux, 18 David de Villiers, 19 Juan SmithH, 20 Falie Oelschig, 21 Conrad Barnard, 22 Hendrik Meyer.
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Marius Jonker (South Africa),
Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
