We have to learn from mistakes, says Jean

WALLABY flyhalf Quade Cooper kicked the Reds to a slogging 22-17 win over the Stormers in Brisbane yesterday.

The Stormers scored two tries to one, but Cooper’s 17 points from a conversion, four penalties and a drop goal got the Reds home.

The Stormers now return to Cape Town having lost all four of their Australasian tour games.

It was a stop-start match, with too much kicking for attacking momentum to be generated, and the Reds benefited from the Stormers’ mistakes as Cooper cashed in with his penalty goals.

The Stormers started brightly when winger Damian de Allende scored after quick hands from Peter Grant, Juan de Jongh and Gio Aplon.

But Aplon’s night was over midway through the first half when he appeared to badly dislocate his left elbow while attempting to break his fall in a James Horwill tackle.

“The Stormers are a very physical side, they pride themselves on their defence and their contact work so we knew it was going to be physical,” the Reds skipper, Horwill, said.

So the Stormers had to be satisfied with a losing bonus point and Stormers captain Jean de Villiers said his team paid once again for making poor decisions.

“We get ourselves into positions to win the game and it’s inexperience, making bad decisions at crucial times and giving possession away,” he said. “We must start learning from our mistakes, because we are doing the same thing over and over again each week.”

The Stormers leave for home, where they will play the Waratahs next weekend, while the Reds have an Australian derby against Western Force in Brisbane.