Stormers in first win of their campaign
For 50 or so minutes the Lions avoided the Stormers’ clutches last night. When Steven Kitshoff and the rest of the Stormers scrum finally caught up with the visitors size, technique and experience took its toll as the home side won 23-17 at Newlands.
It was the Stormers first win of the campaign and the Lions were condemned to a second consecutive defeat away from home.
Kitshoff, Salman Moerat and Bongi Mbonambi played leading roles in helping the Stormers overturn a first-half deficit.
It was a battle of contrasting styles with the Stormers and their Springbok-laden pack intent on contesting the battle at close quarters, while the Lions were desperate to explore space and width.
In that the visitors succeeded in the first half and it helped that their pack matched the Stormers despite the hosts enjoying 73% of the territory.
The Lions however walked a tightrope and needed their game management to be spot on. In that regard captain Elton Jantjies pulled all the right strings apart from one stray pass, and rookie scrumhalf Morne van den Berg played with zip.
The Lions profited by exploring width when they splendidly turned defence into attack that led to a try for wing Rabs Maxwane. Jantjies was caught in possession by Sergeal Petersen but the flyhalf rid himself of the ball before the Stormers arrived.
The ball was whipped to the left to where
Jaco Kriel made a penetrative dart up the touchline. Once confronted he offloaded to Jantjies who quickly transferred to the speeding Maxwane to run in unchallenged.
The Joburgers could have considerably stretched that advantage had a Kriel pass to man of the match Burger Odendaal not been ruled forward.
Kriel was hardly under duress when he made the pass and elementary errors of that kind conspired against the Lions. Some of them were technical, like their infractions at the breakdown, but some were avoidable.
Referee Rasta Rashivhenge was particularly hawkish with the shrill of his whistle dominating proceedings. He wasn’t as hawkish in the last move of the game however when the Stormers defended determinedly to hold on for the win.
The Stormers will be hugely relieved to have overcome a plucky Lions team and get their campaign going with a win. For the Lions, a second defeat on the road will be a bitter pill to swallow.