Stormers edge Cheetahs in brutal derby
The Stormers cemented their place in the top six of the Super Rugby standings with a fortuitous 16-14 win over the Cheetahs in a brutal arm-wrestle at Newlands on Saturday.
In a spiteful game, which saw one yellow and two white cards, and the emotions at times boiling over, the Cheetahs outscored the home side by two tries to one.
The Stormers had the weekend off last weekend. They were still off this weekend. Their second half must surely be the worst half of rugby the Stormers have ever played since their inauguration in 1997.
In the dismal second half they did not score a single point, getting less than 30% of possession. Fetcher-less, they conceded 10 turnovers which did not help their cause. Afterwards their grim-faced captain, Jean de Villiers, said: "If we want to play like this, I can't see us going further in this competition."
Yet again it was the Stormers' defence that won a match they had no right to win. At one stage the Cheetahs battered at their line through 29 phases and did not score. That effort alone was probably to win the match.
The Cheetahs, according to stats and pundits, have a ropey defence, the Stormers a watertight one. At Newlands on Saturday night the Cheetahs scored two tries, the Stormers one, a bash-over try by lock Eben Etzebeth.
For the Cheetahs the first half was a disaster and they were looking at a humiliating hiding, but back they came in the second half, finding increasing energy and determination.
Still the most memorable feature of the game and one that is bound to resonate further was a fight - a massive fight as the players got stuck into each other and it bundled over into touch. The spark seemed to be a disagreement between Deon Fourie and Ashley Johnson but the incident was nothing short of a disgrace.
There were 37 831 spectators at Newlands, streaming into the ground for a late, late kick-off. They deserved much better than a fight and a Mexican wave.
The scrums were a mess with six penalties. In the first half Coenie Oosthuizen was penalised three times at scrums; in the second half Brok Harris was penalised twice and Tiaan Liebenberg once. Three-all at scrum penalties.
Penalties cost the Cheetahs dearly in the first half. Three in a row gave the Stormers nine points to lead 9-0 after 16 minutes as Peter Grant continued his nigh-impeccable kicking. When he hit the upright just before half-time there was an air of unreality about it. Rolls Royce axles don't break and Peter Grant doesn't miss kicks.
Each side suffered blows in the first half. Nizaam Carr of the Stormers went off with what looked like a knee injury. He was replaced by Jebb Sinclair who arrived at the Stormers this week from Canada via London Irish - a contentious inclusion in the side ahead of local talent. An interesting repercussion to Sinclair's appearance on the field was that Andries Bekker changed his line-out calls to English - and the Stormers lost two line-outs.
The blow for the Cheetahs was the form of Sias Ebersohn whose confidence must be at rock bottom since missing that simple kick against the Highlanders. He missed a kick at goal, kicked a penalty dead and under no pressure knocked on a long kick downfield to give the Stormers a foothold in Cheetah territory and eventually their only try.
From the scrum following the knock-on Fourie was close and then a penalty became a five-metre line-out for the Stormers. They bashed and Etzebeth drove over. 16-0, which was the half-time score.
The Cheetahs replaced Sias Ebersohn with Riaan Smit who had played for the Leopards, the Valke, the Pumas and the Griffons before joining the Cheetahs in 2010. His goal-kicking in two conversions from touch was excellent.
The Stormers actually started the half attacking. Andries Bekker was forced out at the corner but the combined efforts of Hennie Daniller and Heinrich Brüssow. Then the Cheetahs took over. They bashed from a penalty-provided line-out and Daniller scored in the left corner. 16-7 after 48 minutes.
In the wash-up after the fight, Rynhardt Elstadt was sent to the sin bin for what had happened just before war broke out. When hostilities died down, the referee referred the whole incident to the citing commissioner via a white card. Action surely must be taken.
The Cheetahs tapped the penalty against Elstadt and went through 29 phases without making even half a metre as the Stormers stopped them, often with Bryan Habana in the van of the defenders.
Elstadt came back and there was a sudden burst of excitement. First Gio Aplon went on a run down the right, gliding past defenders, and then Dewaldt Duvenage passed to his right near the Cheetahs' 22. The pass went straight to Willie le Roux who set off straight down the touchline on his left. De Villiers came racing across but Le Roux skipped past him and fell exhausted over the goal-line for the try.
That ended the scoring. The Stormers got out of their own territory but really they did nothing to produce scoring, lacking even the energy to chase kicks - except for Habana, that is.
Man of the Match: The calm newly-wed - Peter Grant, the one player on the field whose composure never slipped.
The scorers:
For the Stormers:
Try: Etzebeth
Con: Grant
Pens: Grant 3
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Daniller, Le Roux
Cons: Smit 2
Yellow card: Rynhardt Elstadt (Stormers, 54 - foul play, knee on prone opponent)
Teams:
Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Burton Francis, 22 Gerhard van den Heever.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cameron Jacobs, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Philip Snyman.
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees: Stuart Berry (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)