Stormers do enough in Perth

The visitors from Cape Town outscored their opponents three tries to zero to secure a scrappy victory and a bonus point. The win also meant that the Stormers have won both their games with a bonus point on their Australian tour after beating the Melbourne Rebels a week earlier.    

The home side were the first to put points on the board when Jono Lance converted a penalty after just six minutes.

The Stormers then went down a man when centre Daniel du Plessis was yellow carded for taking Marcel Brache out in the air. Du Plessis came off worse after the incident and had to be stretched off after being knocked out.

The Force dominated possession and territory while they had an extra man on the field, however, they could not take advantage in the pouring rain at the nib Stadium.

While the Force struggled to convert their dominance, the Stormers struggled with their kicking game in the wet conditions, which ultimately led to them being pinned back in their own half.

The Cape side finally got their first points of the game in the 33rd minute when flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis levelled matters with a penalty of his own.

After getting some points on the board, the Stormers started to play with a bit more confidence and they nearly took the lead when hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi was tackled into touch centimetres from the Force tryline.

With some sustained pressure in the Force 22, the home side's defence eventually cracked when Stormers wing Kobus van Wyk was put into some space out wide to canter in for the game's first try in the 38th minute.

The Stormers then extended their lead with a crucial try just before the break. After some smart work from a scrum, the visitors worked their way towards the Force tryline with Siyamthanda Kolisi eventually crashing over for his team's second try. Jean-Luc du Plessis converted and the Stormers had a 12-point lead at half-time. 

The visitors dominated possession and territory in the opening minutes of the second half, but like the Force in the first half, errors cost them dearly when they made their way into the final third.

Instead, it was the Force who had the first real chance to put points on the board in the second 40, but Lance could not find his range with a shot at goal from distance.

The Stormers then took the game by the scruff of the neck in the 57th minute when Van Wyk scored his second try of the game.

Fullback Jaco Taute fielded a regulation kick before sending Van Wyk into space to run in for the five points. Du Plessis converted and the Cape side found themselves leading by 19 points going into the last quarter. 

The Force did have their opportunities to score late on, however, they could not find a way past a stubborn Stormers defence.

Man of the match: It was hard to single out any one individual in this game. Kobus van Wyk did score two of his team's tries, but if we should choose on work rate alone then the award goes to Vincent Koch for being powerful in the scrums again and doing his part on defence as well.

The scorers:

For Western Force:

Pen: Lance

For Stormers:

Tries: Van Wyk 2, Kolisi

Cons: JL du Plessis 2

Pen: JL du Plessis

Yellow card: Daniel du Plessis (Stormers, 11 - dangerous play, taking the player out in the air)

Teams:

Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Kyle Godwin, 11 Luke Morahan (captain), 10 Jono Lance, 9 Ryan Louwrens, 8 Angus Cottrell, 7 Chris Alcock, 6 Richard Hardwick, 5 Rory Walton, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Guy Millar, 2 Harry Scoble, 1 Pek Cowan.

Replacements: 16 Anaru Rangi, 17 Francois Van Wyk, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Brynard Stander, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Peter Grant, 23 Semisi Masirewa.

Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Daniel du Plessis, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Schalk Burger (captain), 7 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Alistair Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, JP Smith, 18 17 Wilco Louw, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Scott van Breda.

Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Graham Cooper (Australia), Michael Hogan (Australia)

TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)