DHL Stormers earn good Vodacom Super Rugby win in Cape Town
The DHL Stormers opened their 2017 Vodacom Super Rugby campaign with a comfortable 37-24 win over the Vodacom Bulls in a lively match on Saturday evening in Cape Town.
New captain Siya Kolisi got his name on the scoreboard as the lively DHL Stormers crossed over for five tries against their North nemesis. The Cape side piled on the pressure during a dominant first half display, scoring 24 unanswered points. To their credit, the Pretoria-side fought back in typical fashion after the interval to dot down four tries of their own.
Of concern for the Cape side, however, is the foot injury suffered by Springbok centre Damian de Allende. Lood de Jager made his Vodacom Bulls debut and the big Bok lock had to leave the field early because of a knock to the head.
Powerful young centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg scored a brace of tries to help nudge the Emirates Lions past the determined Toyota Cheetahs in their opening contest in Bloemfontein. The burly midfielder streaked down the touchline just before the end to score his second and to finally break the brave resistance of the home side. The sides were level 6-6 at halftime.
Despite a promising start in the first half, the Southern Kings were unable to contain the onslaught of the visiting Jaguares, who gained a 39-26 win in Port Elizabeth. The Argentine side scored three tries to two and pulled away in the second half for a solid win on the road.
A late try from replacement scrumhalf James Tuttle allowed the Reds to thwart the Cell C Sharks 28-26 in their clash at Suncorp Stadium on Friday morning (SA time). Skipper and pivot, Pat Lambie, missed a difficult penalty at the end that would have earned the Durbanites a win on the road.
The DHL Stormers remain at home to face the Jaguares next week and the Vodacom Bulls are again on the road, taking on the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. In their first home match of the season, 2016 finalists the Emirates Lions host the Waratahs in Johannesburg. The Cell C Sharks continue their Australian trip with a visit to the Brumbies while the Kings travel to Singapore where they will face the Sunwolves.
Vodacom Super Rugby information (click on the links below for access to the match centre):
FIXTURES AND RESULTS | LOGS | STATS
DHL Stormers (24) 37, Vodacom Bulls (0) 24
SCORERS:
DHL Stormers: Tries: SP Marais, Cheslin Kolbe, Nizaam Carr, Siya Kolisi, Dillan Leyds; Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (3); Penalties: Jean-Luc du Plessis (2).
Vodacom Bulls: Tries: Hanro Liebenberg (2), Pierre Schoeman (1), Piet van Zyl; Conversions: Handré Pollard, Tian Schoeman.
Southern Kings 26, Jaguares 39
SCORERS:
Southern Kings: Tries: Makazole Mapimpi, Luzuko Vulindlu; Conversions: Lionel Cronje (2); Penalties: Cronje (4).
Jaguares: Tries: Gonzalo Bertranou, Gonzalo Bertranou, Leonardo Senatore; Conversions: Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias (2); Penalties: Joaquin Diaz Bonilla (3), Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias (3).
Toyota Cheetahs (6) 25, Emirates Lions (6) 28
SCORERS:
Toyota Cheetahs: Try: Rhule, Conversion: Zeilinga, Penalties: Zeilinga (6), Yellow Card: Uys.
Emirates Lions: Tries: Rohan Janse van Rensburg (2), Conversion: Jantjies, Penalties: Jantjies (3)
Yellow Card: Faf de Klerk
Reds (13) 28, Cell C Sharks (16) 26
SCORERS:
Reds 28 – Tries: Scott Higginbotham, Samu Kerevi 2 and James Tuttle; Conversion: Quade Cooper; Penalties: Quade Cooper 2.
Cell C Sharks 26 – Tries: Jean-Luc du Preez and Tera Mtembu; Conversions: Patrick Lambie 2; Penalties: Patrick Lambie 2.
Other results – Round 1:
Thursday, 23 February
Rebels 18, Blues 58
Friday, 24 February
Highlanders 15, Chiefs 24
Saturday, 25 February
Sunwolves 17, Hurricanes 83
Crusaders 17, Brumbies 13
Waratahs 19, Force 13
Logs after Round 1
South African Group
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | DHL Stormers (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | Jaguares (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 4 |
| 3 | Emirates Lions (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Cell Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 1 |
| 5 | Toyota Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 28 | -3 | 1 |
| 6 | Vodacom Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 37 | -13 | 0 |
| 7 | Southern Kings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 39 | -13 | 0 |
| 8 | Sunwolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 83 | -66 | 0 |
Africa Conference 1
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | DHL Stormers (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | Toyota Cheetahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 28 | -3 | 1 |
| 3 | Vodacom Bulls | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 37 | -13 | 0 |
| 4 | Sunwolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 83 | -66 | 0 |
Africa Conference 2
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Jaguares (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | Emirates Lions (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | Cell C Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 1 |
| 4 | Southern Kings | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 39 | -13 | 0 |
Australasian Group
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Hurricanes (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 17 | 66 | 5 |
| 2 | Waratahs (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | Blues (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 18 | 38 | 5 |
| 4 | Chiefs (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| 5 | Crusaders (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Reds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 26 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Brumbies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 1 |
| 8 | Force | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 1 |
| 9 | Highlanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 0 |
| 10 | Rebels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 56 | -38 | 0 |
New Zealand Conference
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Hurricanes (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 17 | 66 | 5 |
| 2 | Blues (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 18 | 38 | 5 |
| 3 | Chiefs (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| 4 | Crusaders (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Highlanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 0 |
Australian Conference
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Waratahs (Q) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 4 |
| 2 | Reds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 26 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Brumbies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 1 |
| 4 | Force | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 1 |
| 5 | Rebels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 56 | -38 | 0 |
[Photo by Jako Pienaar]
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