Bulls stormed away at Loftus
MATCH REPORT: The Stormers got their revenge for their loss in Cape Town to the Bulls by recording a 19-16 win against their old foes at Loftus Versfeld in the United Rugby Championship.
There were all sorts of drama, with the match delayed due to inclement weather, as it was in the corresponding fixture almost one year to the date.
The Bulls, like they did in Cape Town, dominated the scrums, but it was the tactical kicking and breakdown work of the Stormers that trumped the power of the hosts.
The Stormers put the pressure early on Willie le Roux from the kick-off as the Bulls got penalised for sealing off at the breakdown.
Flyhalf Jurie Matthee slotted the first points of the match one minute into the game to get the Stormers on the scoreboard.
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The Bulls got the first scrum of the match moments after the restart when Wandisile Simelane knocked the ball on.
The Bulls earned the penalty against Ali Vermaak for collapsing the scrum and levelled matters when David Kriel in the fifth minute.
Handling was always going to be an issue due to the conditions as the Bulls lost the ball forward from the restart moments later and earned the scrum feed.
Springbok wing Canan Moodie went down with an injury and went off as former Stormer Sergeal Petersen replaced him in the sixth minute for a head injury assessment.
The Bulls earned a penalty on the Stormers feed as Wilco Louw got the better of Ali Vermaak, but the Bulls knocked the ball on as the Stormers attacked. Unfortunately, Deon Fourie also knocked the ball on as the advantage was called over.
The Bulls conceded a free-kick and the Stormers couldn’t capitalise on the advantage.
The Stormers got a penalty as Marco van Staden played Stefan Ungerer at the breakdown and another one for offside in front of the posts as Jurie Mathee stepped up to get the visitors in front in the 15th minute.
Willie Le Roux then played the ball from the side after a line-break by Joseph Dweba in the 17th minute.
The Stormers got the five metre attacking line-out and got the penalty for the illegal sacking of the maul.
Matthee set the five metre line-out as the Stormers looked to have gone over, but the maul was collapsed legally and the Bulls earned the scrum feed to get out of jail.
The Bulls got a breakdown penalty moments later after Gelant got himself isolated and David Kriel stepped up for the kick at goal and levelled matters in the 24th minute.
Another penalty after a breakdown error by the Stormers saw David Kriel get the Bulls in front again in the 27th minute.
The Stormers stole a Bulls line-out in the 31st minute and got a penalty against Reinhardt Ludwig as Mathee levelled matters once again in the 33rd minute.
The Stormers won the aerial contest and Wilco Louw tried to get the steal but he never released in the tackle as Matthee slotted it through the middle in the 38th minute.
The Stormers had a scrum seconds before half-time as Van Staden went limping off and had been replaced by Ruan Vermaak.
The Stormers earned the penalty seconds before the half-time whistle and Matthee tapped the ball and kicked it out to head to the sheds.
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Penalties
Turnovers
The second half started with Matthee overcooking his kick, gifting the Bulls an attacking scrum in the Stormers half but they survived that onslaught.
There was a big concern for the Bulls in the 45th minute when Cobus Wiese went off with what appeared to be a hamstring strain.
The Bulls earned the scrum penalty on a Stormers feed in the visitor’s half and opted to go for the corner in the 58th minute.
The Bulls got a free kick against Ali Vermaak at the line-out and opted for the quick tap and went over for the first try of the match under the posts in the 61st minute through Ruan Vermaak, which Kriel converted.
Moments after the line-out, a grubber kick by Warrick Gelant saw BJ Dixon concede a penalty for being in front of the kicker.
The hosts went for the line-out again but the Stormers survived the onslaught.
The Stormers struck back after a successful scrum with a kick tapped back by Gelant and a kick saw Wandisile Simelane go over and get the try to put the Stormers ahead which Matthee converted in the 67th minute.
The visitors got a penalty for a deliberate knock-on in the 71st minute and opted to kick at goal which Matthee missed.
The Bulls attacked inside the Stormers’ half with a minute to go before Evan Roos went in over the ball and won the penalty.
The Stormers won the line-out and the ball was kicked out by Paul de Wet for the win.
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Match Summary
Scorers:
For the Bulls:
Tries: Vermaak
Cons: Kriel
Pens: Kriel 3
For the Stormers:
Tries: Simelane
Cons: Matthee
Pens: Matthee 4
Yellow cards: Willie le Roux (Bulls: Cynical – playing the ball from the side after a line-break 17′)
Teams
Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Willie le Roux, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Reinhardt Ludwig (captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Jan Hendrik Wessels, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Zak Burger, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Gary Porter, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Willie Engelbrecht, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jonathan Roche.
Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa); Sean Muller (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Image credit @TheStormers
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