Stormers scramble to first win
The Stormers got the first win of their 2009 Super 14 campaign under their belts with a 27-24 victory over the Reds at Newlands.
Last Updated: 20/02/09 8:18pm
The Stormers got the first win of the Super 14 campaign under their belts with a 27-24 victory over the Reds at Newlands on Friday, but failed to pick up a bonus point.
The result leaves the Reds at the bottom the tournament standings but the Australian side were rewarded with two bonus points for their efforts as they outscored their hosts four tries to three.
The Stormers will have mixed emotions as a fourth try was well within their reach but a lacklustre final quarter saw Queensland come back from 27-5 down and give the home side a scare.
The Reds got off to a perfect start, scoring inside the first minute when Stormers lock Andries Bekker did a poor impression of a fly-half, seeing his clearance kick charged down by a real number 10, Quade Cooper, who followed up to put his team ahead.
Few scoring chances
The Stormers' reply came almost immediately when Luke Watson did some sterling work in a ruck to steal the ball. Schalk Brits and Duane Vermeulen combined to put Tonderai Chavhanga in.
In just three minutes the Newlands crowd has been treated to two tries but the rest of the first of the half would prove to be a helter-skelter festival of unstructured mayhem that produced few genuine scoring opportunities.
Peter Grant's penalty on 36 minutes came from a rare incursion into Reds territory, but the three points counted nevertheless.
The Reds would have been kicking themselves heading to the tunnel 10-5 down after enjoying the lion's share of both territory and possession, and it proved to be a trend that continued after the break.
Turnovers at vital times and a handful of mistakes from the visitors had saved the Stormers skins. The home side had been expected to do the playing but the game seemed too loose for the Stormers, who failed to convince anyone that they had a gameplan early on other than throwing the ball around.
The Stormers retained their adventurous spirit in the second half but combined it with a little more composure and points would soon be in the offering.
And a 15 minute purple patch won them the game as they streaked ahead.
Inevitability
Bekker made amends for his kicking mishap by scoring early on. Watson was again involved, carrying the ball up to five metres short of the line from where Bekker was unstoppable.
The game took on an air of inevitability when Jean De Villiers made a trademark break to put a flying Sireli Naqelevuki in for the Stormers' third try.
The Reds had clearly not read the script and caught their hosts napping at the front of a line-out when replacement Saia Faingaa rumbled over to score and narrow the lead to 27-10.
One could have said the Stormers' composure was replaced by complacency as the Reds touched down again, this time thanks to some fleet-footed stepping from Cooper, who opened the Stormers defence up before off-loading to Scott Higginbotham.
With their lead cut to 10 points a reaction was expected from the Stormers but once again it was the Reds who gave the scorers some work as a try from lock Van Humphries earned the visitors a bonus point.
A late rally from the Stormers was not enough to secure a fourth try and the Cape Town side could well rue their lack of urgency later in the season.
