Stormers defeated with last minute drop in Perth
Schalk Burger
Western Force flyhalf David Hill kicked a drop goal after the siren to seal an upset 16-15 win over the Stormers in Perth on Friday and hand his team their first victory of the season.
With the Force trailing 15-13 in injury time, substitute Justin Turner flicked the ball from the scrum to Hill who sent a 35-metre kick sailing between the posts to thunderous cheers from home fans.
Hill, a late replacement for the injured former Springbok Andre Pretorius at the start of the season, had sprayed a long-range penalty kick minutes that would have given the Force the lead in the closing stages.
“I was probably revving myself, (I) missed a couple of kicks tonight and would have been disappointed if that was the way we ended it,” Hill said in a television interview. “Just happy it went over.”
The win snapped a run of six straight losses this season for the Force, whose semifinal prospects were dashed by a run of injuries before their first match.
The Stormers posted their second loss for the season and could tumble as low as fourth in the standings, depending on other results.
Flyhalf Peter Grant kicked five out of five penalties, his last handing a 15-13 lead to the Stormers late in the game.
Grant’s teammates were less accurate, however, and botched a couple of hot try chances to allow the Force to regroup.
Winger Sireli Naqelevuki received a pass out wide and charged toward the line shortly after halftime, but was held up a metre out by a desperate lunge from Force fullback James O’Connor and ended up fumbling the ball forward.
Stormers lock Andries Bekker broke through a lax defensive line to sprint clear with a choice of teammates but missed them all with a wayward pass to scotch a near-certain try with fewer than 10 minutes left.
Australia flanker David Pocock celebrated his recovery from a finger injury with the Force’s first score and only try, crossing the line at the end of a neat chain of passes.
After missing two gettable first-half penalties, O’Connor found his kicking boots to slot one from over 40 metres in the 54th minute and another 12 minutes later to keep the Force in the game. – Reuters
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