Stormers blow hot
Peter Grant kicked 27 points and Jaque Fourie scored two tries as the Stormers took a big step towards a home Super 14 semi-final.
Last Updated: 02/05/10 12:53pm
Peter Grant kicked 27 points and Jaque Fourie scored two tries as the Stormers took a big step towards a home Super 14 semi-final with a crushing victory over the Crusaders.
Despite scoring the opening try in Cape Town through All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter, the visitors were only briefly in the game as the Newlands faithful were treated to a solid display of defence and attack.
Sireli Naqelevuki added a second try to seal the win and by the time Colin Slade went over for a consolation the game had already been wrapped up.
Allister Coetzee's men, who were level on points with their opponents prior to kick-off, moved four clear in second place with two rounds to play.
The Stormers were awarded a penalty after just 15 seconds when Corey Flynn was penalised for obstruction straight from the kick-off, allowing Grant to send over an early three points.
He then doubled the advantage four minutes later when New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw failed to roll away, before an error shifted the momentum in favour of the visitors.
Grant's attempted clearance was charged down by opposite number Carter, who managed to gather calmly and then touch down for the opening score.
Carter easily converted but the visitors then dominated the next 15 minutes of play without capitalising on their territorial advantage, and were made to pay by Grant's accurate boot, this time slotting over from just inside his own half to help his side retake the lead.
Poor discipline
But he and Carter then exchanged misses, before more poor discipline - Brad Thorn conceded his third penalty of the night - enabled Grant to stretch the lead to 12-7.
Just before the half-time break, Kieran Read was yellow-carded for continued ill discipline, but the Crusaders held on to trail by just five points.
That sin-binning proved costly after the restart, though, thanks to a moment of magic from Fourie.
The South Africa centre collected the ball from Grant outside the 22 and weaved his way through six defenders, before touching down for his fifth try of the season.
Grant converted the try and then added two more penalties as the hosts took control.
Naqelevuki's try wrapped up the victory - Adriaan Fondse and Juan de Jongh combining to send the Fijian away.
After Grant converted, Slade went over for a consolation, followed by Fourie and his fly-half completing the scoring.
