Stormers’ Champions Cup Qualification at Risk
Much was at stake in this game at a sold-out Cape Town Stadium as the hosts had to clinch this one in order to keep their hopes alive of making the URC Top-Eight and thus qualifying for the next rendition of the Champions Cup.
While Clayton Blommetjies missed a late conversion as Stormers saw their six-match winning run at Cape Town come to an end, he was far from the only one deserving of interrogation.
A train of handling errors and basic mistakes cost the Stormers, while they also severely lacked a dominating presence at flyhalf in the absence of the injured Manie Libbok. For the Stormers, it was their sixth defeat out of 10 outings.
Stormers Set-Piece let them Down
As can be expected from a derby between the rivals, it was a proper contest in the first half, although the Bulls had the upper hand in terms of territory and possession.
The Stormers stood absolutely no ground at the breakdown, while the Bulls, in between their moments of brilliance, also schooled the hosts with a dominant forward display.
The game was marred by poor goalkicking performances from both teams, as Bulls outside centre David Kriel missed three shots at goal, while Stormers flyhalf Jurie Mathee also missed three.
Going into the fixture, the Bulls were eyeing a top-two position, but they grabbed points in the Mother City, which brought them within striking distance of second place on the overall URC points table.
It turned into a frustrating affair as the game progressed, however, with the Stormers showing utter disrespect for the ball, making mistakes that simply shouldn't be made at this level.
Yellow cards made no difference
The Bulls got off to a blistering start and scored their first through Cobus Wiese, and while the Stormers' lineout was a huge concern going into the game considering the problems they've had at the set-piece at times this season, they scored their first try after making no mistakes after the throw-in.
They followed that up with sharp support play and a stunner of an offload from loose forward Ruben van Heerden to set up tighthead Frans Malherbe for the try. The Bulls put some distance between the scores when David Kriel slotted a penalty around the 30-minute mark, but the Stormers followed with three points of their own courtesy of Jurie Matthee.
The Stormers got lucky before half time after a gutsy call, which saw them go for the corner instead of posts, paid off. A risky and rather questionable grubber from fullback Warrick Gelant five metres out bounced off a Bulls defender, and skipper Salmaan Moerat reacted quickly as he pounced to score a full-point try to take the score to 17-15 for the hosts.
The Bulls denied the Capetonians the luxury of going into the break with the points advantage via a penalty conversion to snatch a one-point lead (17-18).
The Bulls continued absolutely dominating the Stormers at the scrum and they saw good return from it following a superb pick-and-go and score from centre Harold Foster (17-25).
Both sides missed penalties after that, but when the Bulls were reduced to 14 men in the 55th minute after Gerhard Steenekamp received a yellow card for his team’s repeated infringements, the Stormers struck when Evan Roos powered his way through from the five.
The Stormers' fourth try was an attacking masterpiece as inside passes and quick hands were on full display with Warrick Gelant adding the finishing touches, but that's about where the Stormers' 'good' ended.
Hooker Armand van der Merwe continued his powerful display when he stole the ball from replacement scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies at the base of a ruck, and while he was brought down just short, the ball found its way to Ruan Vermaak who crashed over for the score.
Stormers flanker Ben-Jason Dixon snuck a try in the 78th minute, but the conversion - which would have handed the Stormers the win - just went wide.
The bonus-point victory for the Bulls cemented their third place on the URC championship points table, while the Stormers are in 10th spot.
Scorers
Stormers: Tries: Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat, Evan Roos, Warrick Gelant, Ben-Jason Dixon Conversions: Jurie Mathee (2) Penalty: Matthee
Bulls: Tries: Cobus Wiese, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Harold Vorster, Ruan Vermaak: Conversions – David Kriel (3) Penalties: Kriel (2)
