Stormers outclass Chiefs in Hamilton
The Stormers steamrollered the fast-fading Chiefs 49-15 on Friday in a six-try romp that took the South African outfit to the top of the Super 14 standings.
The Stormers have the best defensive record this season and they proved their attacking credentials against the Chiefs, who scored two tries in reply.
The South African side’s forwards outmuscled their opponents, with captain Schalk Burger and giant lock Andries Bekker also running rampant in open play alongside a slick backline.
After winning their first three games of the season, the Chiefs have tumbled to their fifth loss from nine games, and were unable to retain possession for long periods due to poor handling and speculative passing.
Coming off a morale-boosting 33-21 win against the Blues last week, the Stormers picked up where they left off to secure their seventh win from nine games.
“It’s tough to go back-to-back (with consecutive wins) in this competition but we managed to do it, so a pretty awesome week,” Burger said.
“The big thing is we’ve concentrated on accuracy and our structure and we’ve pitched up these two weeks and shown we can score some points.”
The first 30 minutes belonged to the Stormers, who played with great composure from the opening whistle, as opposed to the more erratic home side.
A brilliant try after 22 minutes which covered at least 80 metres and went through nine sets of hands was a just reward for the Stormers’ pressure.
Flanker Burger featured twice in the movement, which started with a break by fullback Gio Aplon, another standout performer.
The fullback featured again in the second try after bursting around two tacklers to release No 8 Duane Vermeulen for a sprint to the line.
A last-gasp try in the spell by Chiefs flanker Tanerau Latimer reduced the difference to 20-10 at half-time.
No 8 Sione Lauaki made the try, breaking from the back of a scrum in the Stormers 22, and fending off Burger before slipping a great little offload to Latimer.
But the Stormers bounced back quickly in the second half with a try to roving hooker Tiaan Liebenberg, and stretched their lead further with touchdowns to winger Sireli Naqelevuki, Bekker and replacement hooker Deon Fourie.
Chiefs fullback Tim Nanai-Williams deftly avoided being bundled into touch to score after 68 minutes but the game was well out of reach by then.
Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant kicked four conversions and three penalties, while Stephen Donald kicked five points for the Chiefs.
In next weekend’s Round 11 action, the Stormers travel to Brisbane to face the Reds, while the Chiefs host the Cheetahs in Hamilton.
[AFP]
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