Stormers leapfrog Sharks for top spot in South African Group – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 5 wrap

Mar 27 • General News, Super Rugby • 1128 Views • Comments Off on Stormers leapfrog Sharks for top spot in South African Group – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 5 wrap

• DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls secure valuable overseas victories
• Cell C Sharks suffer first defeat of the season

The DHL Stormers leapfrogged the Cell C Sharks for the top spot in the South African Group on the Vodacom Super Rugby log table in the early hours of Sunday morning as they defeated the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, while the Cell C Sharks suffered their first defeat of the season against the Crusaders in Durban.

In an action-packed Easter Weekend, the DHL Stormers held their nerve to secure a 13-8 victory against the Jaguares and the Vodacom Bulls pipped the Sunwolves 30-27 in Singapore, while the Southern Kings went down 42-20 against the Hurricanes in Wellington, the Toyota Cheetahs suffered a 25-18 defeat against the Brumbies in Bloemfontein and the Crusaders defeated the Cell C Sharks 19-14.

The Emirates Lions, meanwhile, had a bye.

In Wellington the Southern Kings delivered a brave performance against the Hurricanes, but their efforts were not enough to stop the hosts from extending their record run of home wins against South African opposition to seven matches. The Hurricanes took charge early on, but two late first-half tries by the Southern Kings left the Port Elizabeth side trailing 19-17 at the break. The second half was tightly contested, but the Hurricanes’ ability to convert their chances into points at crucial times steered them to a 42-20 bonus-point victory.

The Vodacom Bulls succeeded in their mission to win their first match overseas since the third round in the 2013 season as they registered a hard-fought 30-27 victory against the Sunwolves in Singapore. The battle between the forwards, in particular, was intense, while both teams showed immense character throughout the clash, resulting in a tightly fought encounter. The Vodacom Bulls led the first half 16-10, and built on this in a tight second half to secure a 30-27 victory.

In Bloemfontein the Toyota Cheetahs went down 25-18 against the Brumbies as mistakes at crucial times and a solid defensive display by the visitors cost them several point-scoring chances. The victory for the Brumbies allowed them to continue their dominance against the Toyota Cheetahs in the competition, while the defeat for the home side stretched their longest losing run at home in the competition to six matches.

The Cell C Sharks, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the season as they went down 19-14 in an epic battle against the Crusaders. The visitors attacked at will during the match, while the Cell C Sharks were forced to defend most of the time as they opted for an aerial approach. Two opportunistic tries by Springbok wing Lwazi Mvovo combined with the team’s tenacious defence, however, kept the Cell C Sharks in the match until the final whistle. The team, however, was forced to settle for a losing bonus point in the end.

In Buenos Aires the DHL Stormers delivered a solid performance all around against the Jaguares as they dominated in the scrums, stole lineouts at key times, defended like demons and used a handful of point-scoring chances to secure a valuable 13-8 victory. Such was the tight nature of the clash, each team scored only one try, but it was the DHL Stormers’ resolute defence, which forced the hosts to make several handling errors, and their ability to take the points on offer in the first half, which steered them to victory. The win marked their third successive victory overseas dating back to last season.

In the other matches, the Chiefs beat the Force 53-10 in Hamilton, the Highlanders defeated the Rebels 27-3 in Melbourne and the Waratahs pipped the Reds 15-13 in Brisbane.

Hurricanes 42 (19) Southern Kings 20 (17)

The Hurricanes took control early in the first half against the Southern Kings as they dominated possession and applied pressure by running hard at the defence and off-loading before the tackle, which allowed them to gain yards on attack. This smart game plan earned them three tries in the first 26 minutes, while the visitors were only able to score a penalty compliments of flyhalf Louis Fouche, which left them trailing 19-3. The Southern Kings, however, tightened up their defence as the match progressed and they managed to get more possession. Adding to this, they opted to attack rather than opt for penalty kicks to score points, and the rewards followed as captain Steven Sykes crossed the tryline thanks to a clever pass following a series of pick-and-go’s, which marked a fine celebration of his 100^th Vodacom Super Rugby match. The Southern Kings struck again in the dying seconds of the half as Shane Gates gathered the ball from a turnover and dashed up-field before off-loading to Fouche, who touched down for their second try. He converted the try to close the gap on the scoreboard to 19-17.

Both teams entered the second half with confidence, with the Southern Kings doing particularly well to retain possession and apply pressure on the Hurricanes defence. They also delivered a tenacious defensive effort, which forced the hosts to opt for penalty kicks to keep the score board ticking. Mistakes at crucial times, however, combined with the solid defence denied both sides from scoring tries in the third quarter, but three penalties by Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett and one by Fouche left the Kings trailing 28-8 in the 68^th minute. The home team, however, found their rhythm in the last 10 minutes and succeeded in converting their chances into points, which earned them another two tries for a 42-20 victory.

Scorers:

Hurricanes 42 (19): Tries – Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett, Blade Thomson, Ngani Laumape, Vince Aso. Conversions – Beauden Barrett (4). Penalties -Beauden Barrett (3).

Southern Kings 20 (17): Tries – Louis Fouche, Steven Sykes. Conversions – Louis Fouche (2). Penalties – Louis Fouche (2).

Sunwolves 27 (10) Vodacom Bulls 30 (16)

The first half between the Vodacom Bulls and Sunwolves was tightly-contested as both teams opted to use their forwards in an attempt to gain ascendancy. The Sunwolves struck first with a try in the second minute from a smart chip kick by fullback Riaan Viljoen, which the visitors mis-fielded, resulting in a try and a 7-0 lead for the hosts. The Vodacom Bulls dominated possession as the half progressed, but they were unable to break through the Sunwolves defence and settled for penalties instead to keep the scoreboard ticking. Flyhalf Tiaan Schoeman slotted over three penalties to one by Sunwolves flyhalf Tusi Pisi to trail 10-9. The Vodacom Bulls efforts to score a try, however, paid off in the 26^th minute when the Sunwolves were reduced to 14 men due to a yellow card, with captain Adriaan Strauss touching down from an effective lineout drive to take a 16-10 lead.

The second half was equally competitive as both teams tried to force their way onto the front foot, which saw them battle it out until the final whistle. The Vodacom Bulls had the first say in the half with flank Roelof Smit scoring his first Vodacom Super Rugby try from a rolling maul, which handed the side a 23-10 lead. Pisi reduced the gap to 10 points with a penalty a few minutes later, which the Sunwolves backed up with a stunning team try to trail 23-20. Vodacom Bulls wing Jamba Ulengo pushed the visitors ahead once again as he capitalised on a strong scrum to touch down against the posts for a 30-20 lead. The Sunwolves were dealt a blow as they were reduced to 14 men for the second time as Ed Quirk played the ball from an offside position. However, with the team back to their full staff compliment in the 78^th minute, they finished off the match with another memorable try from a clever lineout move for a narrow 30-27 defeat and a valuable bonus point.

Scorers:

Sunwolves 27 (10): Tries – Akihito Yamada, Andrew Durutalo, Yuki Yatomi. Conversions – Tusi Pisi (3). Penalties – Tusi Pisi (2).

Vodacom Bulls 30 (16): Tries – Adriaan Strauss, Jamba Ulengo, Roelof Smit. Conversions – Tiaan Schoeman (3). Penalties – Tiaan Schoeman (3).

Toyota Cheetahs 18 (8) Brumbies 25 (15)

The clash in Bloemfontein was gripping with both sides trying hard to make their presence felt. But the Brumbies had the upper hand as they out-scored the Toyota Cheetahs two tries to one in the first half to take a 15-8 lead. The Brumbies threatened from the first minute, with a forward pass denying them a try 30 seconds into the game. But they crossed the tryline in the fourth minute by drawing the defenders and passing in the tackle. Brumbies flyhalf Christian Lealiifano added a penalty in the 11^thminute to stretch their lead to 10-0, but the hosts hit back with a penalty by Niel Marais and an unconverted try by looseforward Uzair Cassiem as they changed direction on attack to catch the Brumbies defenders off-guard, which reduced the deficit to 10-8. The hosts continued to create point-scoring chances as the game progressed, but mistakes at crucial times denied them from earning the rewards. The Toyota Cheetahs were reduced to 14 men in the 34^th minute as prop Ox Nche received a yellow card for running into the ball from an offside position. This allowed the Brumbies to add their second try by taking advantage of an overlap for a 15-8 lead. The Brumbies were reduced to 14 men soon after, and the hosts managed to work their way to the tryline, but a costly knock-on denied them from scoring their second try.

The second half followed a similar pattern with the Brumbies capitalising on their point-scoring chances and doing well to shut out the hosts with their effective defence, while the Toyota Cheetahs continued to make costly mistakes. Lealiifano slotted over a penalty for the Brumbies, while prop Ben Alexander added a try in the 56^th minute to stretch their lead to 25-8. The Toyota Cheetahs, however, hit back with a fantastic try by wing Sergeal Petersen, who dashed to the tryline after gathering a pass from fullback Clayton Blommetjies, which reduced the deficit to 25-15 with five minutes on the clock. The hosts won another penalty in the final minute, but with a victory out of range, Marais opted for a penalty to stretch the score to 25-18 for a losing bonus point.

Scorers:

Toyota Cheetahs 18 (8): Tries – Sergeal Petersen, Uzair Cassiem. Conversion – Niel Marais. Penalties – Niel Marais (2).

Brumbies 25 (13): Tries – Aidan Toua, Ben Alexander, Ita Vaea. Conversions – Christian Lealiifano, Matt Toomua. Penalties – Christian Lealiifano (2).

Cell C Sharks 14 (7) Crusaders 19 (7)

In Durban the Cell C Sharks battled in the scrums, lost key lineouts, and kicked away possession at crucial times in the first half, which reduced their chances of stamping their authority against the Crusaders. On a positive note, however, their defence was solid, which limited the Crusaders to only one try in the first half. The Crusaders looked threatening on attack as they delivered a balanced performance with tactical kicking and hard running on attack, but the Cell C Sharks restricted them to a solitary try by David Havili, who received a smart hand-off metres from the tryline in the 25^th minute. The Cell C Sharks, however, levelled the scores at 7-7 five minutes before the break thanks to a well-timed intercept try by Springbok wing Lwazi Mvovo.

Mvovo added another opportunistic try four minutes after the break as he gathered a loose ball and dashed to the tryline to hand the Cell C Sharks a 14-7 lead. The Crusaders received a yellow card in the 48^th minute for David Havili shoving a Sharks player in the face, which reduced them to 14 men, but despite this the New Zealanders scored their second try of the match compliments of the powerful Nemani Nadolo. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful, which left them trailing 14-12. Both teams were denied tries in the following exchanges, but the Crusaders fought until the end with their powerful running and clever phase-play, which earned captain Kieran Reid a try in the 72^nd minute for a handy 19-15 lead. The Cell C Sharks received a penalty in the last minute, but their attempt to snatch a last gasp victory was erased due to obstruction, forcing them to settle for a bonus point for losing by five points.

Scorers:

Cell C Sharks 14 (7): Tries – Lwazi Mvovo (2). Conversions – Joe Pietersen (2).

Crusaders 19 (7): Tries – David Havili, Kieran Read, Nemani Nadolo. Conversions – Nemani Nadolo, Richard Mo’unga.

Jaguares 8 (8) DHL Stormers 13 (13)

The DHL Stormers delivered an encouraging first-half display against the Jaguares as they dominated in the scrums and applied immense pressure on the home team with their solid defence, which forced a number of a handling errors. They also capitalised on most of their point-scoring chances, which earned flyhalf Kurt Coleman two penalties, while fullback Cheslin Kolbe took advantage of the Jaguares being reduced to 14 men to score a fantastic try in the 23^rd minute after sneaking through a gap in the defence and then bouncing up from an attempted tackle to touch down. In return Jaguares flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez slotted over a penalty in the 19^thminute, while the hosts scored a morale-boosting try on the stroke of halftime to reduce the deficit on the scoreboard to 13-8.

The second half proved to be a war of attrition as the teams tried to wear each other down with their physicality. While the DHL Stormers opted to kick for territory and apply pressure on the Jaguares using their water-tight defensive system, the Jaguares retained possession and strung together phases on attack. With both sides putting their bodies on the line on defence the Jaguares and DHL Stormers were denied decent try-scoring chances. The hosts also had a few chances at goal to inflate their score, but two missed penalties left them short on the scoreboard. The home team’s biggest downfall, however, was their high number of handling errors, while their struggle in the set pieces at crucial times didn’t assist their cause, forcing them to settle for another single-figure defeat.

Scorers:

Jaguares 8 (8): Try – Jeronimo de la Fuente. Penalty – Nicolas Sanchez.

DHL Stormers 13 (13): Try – Cheslin Kolbe. Conversion – Kurt Coleman. Penalties – Kurt Coleman (2).

Vodacom Super Rugby logs after Round 5:

Other Results – Round 5:

Chiefs 53-10 Force – FMG Stadium, Hamilton

Rebels 3-27 Highlanders – AAMI Park, Melbourne

Reds 13-15 Waratahs – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

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