Stormers hold off gutsy Lions
24 Mar 2012
SIMON BORCHARDT reports on the Stormers’ unconvincing 24-19 win against the Lions at Ellis Park.
In the build-up to this game, much was made of the fact that the Lions had lost 11 first-choice players to injury. But their rookie replacements more than held their own against the SA conference champions, with scrumhalf Tian Meyer in particular looking like a Super Rugby veteran and the front row of Caylib Oosthuizen, Callie Visagie and Pat Cilliers – who had four Super Rugby caps between them coming into the match – achieving parity at scrum time, apart from one costly tighthead. The Lions dominated the breakdown, which wasn’t a surprise as the Stormers don’t have a recognised fetcher.
In the end, though, the Cape side was still too good on the night, racking up 18 points in the first quarter and then stepping up a gear at the end of the third to regain control of a match that was slipping away from them. But it was a far from convincing performance and the Bulls must be looking forward to their trip to Newlands next weekend.
The Stormers made the perfect start to the game when Bryan Habana tapped the ball back from the kick-off and nine phases later Tiaan Liebenberg crashed over for a try in his 50th Super Rugby match.
Fifteen minutes later, the Stormers won a tighthead and the ball went wide to Habana, who kicked ahead, raced past Warren Whiteley and dived on the ball just before it went dead for his 50th Super Rugby try. Joe Pietersen missed the conversion but slotted two penalties to make it 18-zip.
The Lions finally got on the board on the half-hour mark when a sustained attack on the Stormers’ line resulted in a try for Meyer. That gave the hosts a big boost and they began to dominate possession, taking the ball through 17 phases just before half-time, although they were unable to cross the whitewash.
The Lions’ fightback was evident by the fact that the Stormers had to make 55 tackles compared to their opponents’ 24 in the first half.
After 20 minutes of the second half that stat had blown out to 87-28 and the visitors’ lead had been cut to just two points after three penalties from Butch James.
But the Stormers raised their game in the final quarter and two penalties from Pietersen secured a win that takes them to the top of the combined Super Rugby standings.
The Lions did get a deserved bonus point when Andries Coetzee slotted a drop goal after the hooter, but they will be disappointed not to have got four.
445 Comments
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24 Mar 2012, 23:24 pm
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-297:
Party dress regalia, now I see them in pink tutu’s…perhaps with fairy wings and a wand.
24 Mar 2012, 23:24 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-300:
Bulls new rugby blogg site?
24 Mar 2012, 23:25 pm
@carol(carol)-301:
Yes getting on the bus after getting whooped by Stormers at Newlands
24 Mar 2012, 23:27 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-303:
We will see…!! lol
24 Mar 2012, 23:27 pm
Off the topic – RWC2015 qualifiers start today, Mexico hosting Jamaica with Craig Joubert blowing the whistle.
They even are streaming it live.
24 Mar 2012, 23:27 pm
Bulls are big breek in their own corral.. when they start stampeding and the walls cave in ahead of their bombastic bombardment then they suddenly feel ruthlessly invincible.. its a typical bully type of mindset .. but Bully brekers are actually soft in the real toughness stakes .. its all rough and tumble high physicality adrenalin that floats their boat… smack them off their overbearing tickie and they fold and flake like they did vs the Blues..
24 Mar 2012, 23:28 pm
Night all
Enjoy your Sunday
24 Mar 2012, 23:28 pm
(without w w w) mexrugby.com/website/multimedia/live-streaming-nacra-09.html
24 Mar 2012, 23:29 pm
@Nils(Nils)-305:
I will check it our See how our drug dealing neighbors are doing
24 Mar 2012, 23:30 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-309: They are starting in seconds.
Dallaglio already made first “kick”.
24 Mar 2012, 23:33 pm
@Nils(Nils)-310:
Yes watching thanks
24 Mar 2012, 23:37 pm
Mexico scores
Entertainment level is 100 times better than England vs Scotland lol
Sorry Carol
24 Mar 2012, 23:40 pm
2nd try Mexico, they are rampant. Meanwhile no 6 throws Jamaican lineouts, interesting.
24 Mar 2012, 23:43 pm
Mexican back run hard and straight Sharks backs should be watching lol
24 Mar 2012, 23:46 pm
Ok everyone has left cheers
24 Mar 2012, 23:48 pm
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-315: Cheers, enjoy the game!
25 Mar 2012, 00:17 am
@ashampoopaloo(joel1yahoo)-306:
Really that’s a bit rich and a typical bitterbek Stormer reply
We’ve played three home semi’s against arguably the best Super team ever, the Crusaders, and won all three, putting 50 past them in the 2009 one
You had two home finals, the first one you you should have won but chose to strike like Cosatu scum before the game with Comrade Marinos in front
The second one 2011 the Reds did to you on the field what’s normally done only AFTER the Cape Town Pride Parade
And you have the cheek to gripe about the Bulls?
25 Mar 2012, 00:36 am
7/7 on Superbru for the weekend.
If I had placed a $20 bet on all seven matches I could have made a tidy sum of money.
Dammit!
25 Mar 2012, 00:40 am
@victoriabok(victoriabok)-317:
“You had two home finals,…”
Did we?
At least get your facts straight if you want to take on Skop.
25 Mar 2012, 00:41 am
@Todd W(Todd W)-318:
This may sound weird, but anyone who got 7/7 on Superbru this weekend doesn’t know much about rugby.
Picking the Rebels to beat the Force and the Brumbies to beat the unbeaten Highlanders? Ridiculous.
You have to be a rugby greenhorn to make those picks. The fact that they actually came true is mind boggling.
25 Mar 2012, 00:52 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-320:
Oh, I absolutely I admit I am a greenhorn. A total greenhorn who made his picks in about four minutes having not even looked at the players or past matches between the sides or whatever. All I looked at was who had home ground advantage and what had happened in the past four weeks.
The Highlanders I picked to lose because a team has to lose eventually and the Brumbies (if I remember correctly) had home-ground advantage.
Both the Rebels and the Force are not too good, I thought it could go either way so saw no reason why I shouldn’t take a punt on the ones who weren’t favoured.
Don’t worry, I’m sure it was all beginner’s luck and that next week I’ll get five matches wrong and order will be restored to the world. In the meantime I am pretty pleased with myself.
Oh, and also pissed that I didn’t take this chance to bet. Of all the times not to gamble … d’oh!
25 Mar 2012, 00:55 am
@Todd W(Todd W)-321:
I wasn’t having a go at you. Rather, I was expressing my dissatisfaction at the rollercoaster nature of the results this year.
Well done on your 7/7.
25 Mar 2012, 01:10 am
Hey Stormersboy
The Repucom stats are out for week 3, and there are some interesting trends emerging.
The Bulls knocked the Stormers off the top spot for a game against an overseas opponent, pipping the Stormers 711k against the Canes with 715k viewers for the Bulls/Blues game.
We still need a clash between the Bulls/Sharks on a Saturday to compare apples with apples for the Stormers/Sharks game
I suspect the highest viewership of the season will easily be achieved this coming weekend, when the Bulls tackle the Stormers on a Saturday.
25 Mar 2012, 01:11 am
@saru1983(saru1983)-152:
Agree.
@CoachPete(CoachPete)-155:
Seems he has quite a few of them. The boy is not worthy. Kick him to the curb and let him sommer take Koster with him.
Way overrated, both of them.
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-320:
Picking the Rebels to beat the Force was actually a very wise rugby choice given their performances the past two weeks and also given the fact that they were playing at home.
Brumbies are always tough to beat at home…and Jake White is their coach. never go against the White man.
25 Mar 2012, 01:17 am
@Tacitus(Deucalion)-323:
“…when the Bulls tackle the Stormers on a Saturday.”
You probably mean when the STOOOOORMEEEEEERRRRRRS moer the Bulletjies.
25 Mar 2012, 01:20 am
160 runs for the quota, Peterson.
Hondo probably having nightmares.
25 Mar 2012, 06:41 am
@tacitus. 320.picking the Rebels and Brumbies is hardly ridiculous. Just because you didn’t does not qualify. You really are a pompous old tw at. The Geoffrey Boycott of Keo.
25 Mar 2012, 07:27 am
@nama1(nama1)-326: am sure Hondo and the “new” Grant are barely prepared to face the day
25 Mar 2012, 07:35 am
Hondo will blame Jonathon Kaplan somehow.
25 Mar 2012, 08:16 am
Mexico vs Jamaica?????
Hot damn!
25 Mar 2012, 08:22 am
Yoh.
To read the comments from the kenners like fuckadilly and Robbo here the bulls may as well not bother turning up.
Then you have UFO pretending to bleat about this young bulls team being the favorites.
Let the air punching begin.
25 Mar 2012, 08:26 am
Alviro is like Andrew Hudson was …. he never makes any runs, but just when he’s about to be dropped, he goes and makes a hundred.
25 Mar 2012, 08:29 am
Bulls players on form : Potgieter, Flip, Spies, Hougaard, Wynand, Zane, Basson
Stormers players on form : Emmmm … W .. no, emmm … eish!
25 Mar 2012, 08:30 am
Who won that MexJam game??
25 Mar 2012, 08:33 am
Jam won, they smoked more weed .. mexico couldn’t keep up in the second half
25 Mar 2012, 08:36 am
Nama you only seem to get excited when players of colour perform?
Perhaps you and Hondo have more in common than you thought?
25 Mar 2012, 08:38 am
Bulls vs Stormers = Afrikaners vs Coloureds = Hondo vs Nama1 ….
25 Mar 2012, 08:44 am
Mexico 68 Jamaica 14
25 Mar 2012, 08:49 am
omw, i can just see it, another k@k invictus/cool runnings fairytale made up story, were madiba goes and coaches jamaica and they win the 2015 RWC …
25 Mar 2012, 08:52 am
Were you born stupid
25 Mar 2012, 08:54 am
wHere …stupid auto correct
25 Mar 2012, 09:01 am
So the answer is yes then.
25 Mar 2012, 09:05 am
He doesn’t know the difference between “where” and “were”!!!!!!!!!
OMG he is dom!
25 Mar 2012, 09:06 am
My work here is done.
25 Mar 2012, 09:09 am
Hehehe
Yoh…
Then you get Airhead Gunther pretending the Bulls are not favourites… when they just klapped the champs by a cricket score and the Stormers just played like a bunch of amateurs playing air-rugby…
Like anyone is going to be taken in by your hubris…
Revealing his constant state of dazed and bedazzled mind… He’s not happy when Stormers fans say they are favourites… He’s not happy when Stormers fans say they are not favourites…
Proving what…?
Grumpy Gunthy isn’t happy unless he’s putting Stormers fans down…
Well… if that gives your self-esteem the boost it needs… fire away…!!
Take a poll on keo and see who thinks who is favourites… Even go ask your bookie buddies who are favourites for this game…
See who the majority of kenners think are favourites…?
Hahaha…
25 Mar 2012, 10:08 am
Lol. I don’t even need to say anything this week. The get-along gang kenners are already tearing themselves apart all on their own. Stormers v Bulls. Oracles v bitterbeks v grumpies v arrogant sods. I will watch and enjoy the fallout this week.
25 Mar 2012, 10:35 am
If your gameplan is to defend for the whole match youd b an idiot to leave out schalk burger.
burger is a rugby god the man is that good.Any capable coach would find it impossible to lose with schalk in the team reckon hes a better flyhalf than grant as well.
25 Mar 2012, 11:28 am
@saru1983(saru1983)-347:
Haha I enjoy being sarcastic and facetious myself now and then.
But over to serious matters:
@ufo(ufo)-345:
Gunther is right, the season has just begun.
That’s what distinguishes us from Stormers supporters. Our sincere humility.
Oh, and by the way, the Bulls are going to crush the Stormers, they will be equal in games played and won, only the Bulls will be 4 points ahead of them on the log, 24 to 20.
25 Mar 2012, 12:30 pm
Stormers will have to beef up their flanks and eightman combo to deal with the physicality of CJ Stander, Pierre Spies and Jaques Potgieter. Koster doesn’t have the physicality to compete at this level. He would be a better impact player, coming off the bench in the latter part of the game. How about Duane Vermeulen at 8, Kolisi and Elstadt on flanks. Elstadt started out at no.7. Quite shocking to see the lack of confidence the stormers showed in their backline full of Boks, Grant, De Villiers, De Jongh, Habana and Aplon, with the incessant box kicks by Duvenhage.
25 Mar 2012, 12:35 pm
It seems that their whole gameplan is built around Habana’s score last week when he chased down that kick and got a lucky bounce. A kick is only as good as the chase, but with a bacline like their’s the Stormers could really carry it a little bit more!
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