NSW Waratahs 22 – 11 Stormers

Asteron Life Super Rugby round 8 – Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

The NSW Waratahs have ended their South African tour on a high note, overcoming the Stormers 22-11 in a frenetic encounter in Cape Town. The historic win was their first at Newlands since 2006, and was built on the back of a powerful set piece and perfect goal kicking displays from playmakers Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale.

Waratahs’ captain Dave Dennis lauded his side’s improvement over last week in Durban, noting a marked improvement in all facets of their game.

“Last week we lacked a bit of finesse in our attack and at the breakdown but I thought this week we were a lot better… we got the result which is really pleasing after a tough two weeks,” Dennis said.

The skipper also heaped praise on his powerful forward pack, that stole three lineouts against the throw and forced two crucial scrum penalties in the second half.

“We’ve been a bit disappointing at the set piece the past couple of weeks but we knew were capable of putting in a big performance and I thought the scrum and lineout tonight was really good and set a nice platform for the win.”

As has become customary this season, the Tahs were first out of the blocks, with big lock Will Skelton ripping the ball out of fullback Jaco Taute’s hands in a ferocious tackle in the fourth minute of the match. Centre Adam Ashley-Cooper spotted space on the counterattack, executing a perfect grubber kick into the hands of winger Peter Betham, who was brought down just metres short of the line.

Dennis opted against a subsequent penalty kick but an attacking maul was held up and flyhalf Peter Grant was able to relieve early pressure.

The Stormers were on the attack soon after but courageous defence from the Tahs withstood 10 phases of pressure in their 22 and allowed lock Kane Douglas to secure a brilliant turnover at the breakdown.

Jono Lance cleared the Tahs’ line but his team were penalised from the ensuing lineout for playing the man in the air. Grant slotted the first points of the match, opening his account with a penalty goal in the 12^th minute.

The frenzied start continued from the kickoff, when flanker Michael Hooper regathered a beautiful high restart and put pressure immediately back on the Stormers. And although a handling error halted the Tahs’ momentum, the ball popped out of a messy Stormers’ scrum and scrumhalf Nick Phipps dived over to snatch an opportunistic try. Foley added the extras and the visitors held a 7-3 lead with 15 minutes gone.

But five minutes later the Stormers hit back, as Grant held up a perfectly weighted short ball to Springbok Juan de Jongh. The destructive centre crashed through the midfield and linked with winger Jacobus van Wyk, who sprinted into the corner. Grant’s conversion went left of the uprights, and the Stormers held a slender 7-8 lead.

With five minutes before the break, the Tahs strung together a clinical set of attacking phases and forced Ruan Botha off his feet at a breakdown ten metres out from his line. Foley made no mistake with the penalty attempt, and the Waratahs seized a two-point advantage.

Fullback Jaco Taute had a chance to steal back the lead on the stroke of halftime, but his penalty attempt from beyond halfway fell short of the mark.

Minutes after the break Beale nailed a long range attempt, and Foley added a penalty of his own five minutes later after prop Steven Kitshoff was penalised for angling into a midfield scrum.

The damaging de Jongh looked to have hit back soon after, but the TMO ruled the centre had made a second attempt at crossing the line. An accrued advantage gave Peter Grant an easy penalty goal from in front and the Stormers moved into striking distance, trailing 16-11 after 56 minutes.

But Grant’s strike was counteracted after only six minutes, when a dominant Tahs’ scrum gifted Beale his second long range penalty goal. And when Foley added another goal, the Tahs held a 22-11 lead – a margin which would prove insurmountable with only 12 minutes to play.

With a chance to steal victory late in the match, the Stormers were camped inside the NSW 22 for the last five minutes. Replacement prop Oliver Kebble looked to have scored with a minute remaining, but the tenacious Brendan McKibbin showed enormous courage to lodge himself between the ball and the line.

And although Phipps was sent to the bin for repeated team infringements after the siren, the Tahs muscled up on defence and denied the Stormers a losing bonus point, notching up a memorable 22-11 win.

The Tahs fly home to Australia tomorrow via Perth, where they meet a resurgent Western Force side at NIB Stadium on Saturday April 12 (5.40pm AEST), before finally returning home to host the Bulls in a big round 10 Easter Saturday clash at Allianz Stadium (April 19, 7.40pm).

You can follow all the away games LIVE on Fox Sports, or catch up on the action and all the match stats with our online matchcentre.

Alternatively, fans will be able to watch all the highlights from every game online on the NSW Waratahs’ YouTube channel, Tah TV.

NSW Waratahs 22 (tries: Phipps; cons: Foley; pens: Foley 3, Beale 2) def Stormers 11 (tries: van Wyk; pens: Grant 2)

NSW Waratahs: 1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood), 2. Tatafu Polota Nau (Parramatta), 3. Sekope Kepu (Randwick), 4.Will Skelton (Sydney University), 5. Kane Douglas (Southern Districts), 6. Jacques Potgieter (Eastern Suburbs) 7. Michael Hooper (Manly) 8. Dave Dennis (Sydney University, captain), 9. Nick Phipps (Sydney University), 10. Bernard Foley (Sydney University), 11. Peter Betham (Sydney University), 12. Jono Lance (Eastern Suburbs), 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Northern Suburbs), 14.Alofa Alofa (West Harbour), 15. Kurtley Beale (Randwick)

Replacements: 16. Tolu Latu (Sydney University), 17. Jeremy Tilse (Sydney University), 18. Paddy Ryan (Sydney University), 19. Pat McCutcheon (Sydney University), 20. Stephen Hoiles (Randwick), 21. Brendan McKibbin (Eastern Suburbs), 22. Matt Carraro (Randwick), 23. Cam Crawford (Northern Suburbs)

Stormers: 1. Steven Kitshoff, 2. Deon Fourie, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Ruan Botha, 5. Michael Rhodes, 6. Nizaam Carr, 7. Siya Kolisi, 8. Duane Vermeulen (captain), 9. Louis Schreuder, 10. Peter Grant, 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau, 12. Damian de Allende, 13. Juan de Jongh, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 15. Jaco Taute

Replacements: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Oliver Kebble, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Tazz Fuzani, 20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21. Nic Groom, 22. Demetri Catrakilis, 23. Michael van der Spuy

Referee: Glen Jackson (NZL)

Half-time: NSW Waratahs 10 – 8 Stormers

Yellow cards: Nick Phipps (80^th min)