It wasn’t a pretty affair, but in the end it was the Stormers who edged the Cheetahs 20-10 in a Super Rugby clash in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
It is the first time that the Stormers have won in Bloemfontein since 2012, and they have now won both of their matches this season while the Cheetahs are winless.
It was a match in which there was plenty of attacking intent, but the execution did not allow for the high-scoring game many had anticipated.
The Stormers drew first blood through the pace of left wing Leolin Zas, but the Cheetahs were level soon after when captain Francois Venter broke through the defensive line to score under the posts.
Those two tries were the only scoreboard action in the first half as the sides went into the break locked at 7-7.
The second half started in much the same way, with neither side able to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
The Stormers received a major blow just five minutes after the restart when flyhalf Robert du Preez limped off with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
But perhaps the biggest moment in the match came when Cheetahs lock Lood de Jager was sin-binned for a high tackle on Pieter-Steph du Toit.
With the numerical advantage, the Stormers got their second try after a sustained period of pressure when Sikhumbuzo Notshe scored under the posts.
Scorers:
Cheetahs (7)
Try: Francois Venter
Conversion: Fred Zeilinga
Penalty: Zeilinga
Stormers (7)
Try: Leolin Zas, Sikhumbuzo Notshe
Conversions: Robert du Prez, Kurt Coleman
Penalties: Coleman (2)
Teams:
Cheetahs
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais
Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Boom Prinsloo, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Niel Marais
Stormers
15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oli Kebble.
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones
Source – Sport24
South Africa Today Sport – Rugby News