Cards galore as Stormers edge Griquas at the death

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers XXIII started a new chapter in the Currie Cup with a 25-19 win against Griquas at Cape Town Stadium on Friday.

After being behind for most of the second half, Scrumhalf Stefan Ungerer was the hero for the home side when he went over for the winning try at the death.

To add to the drama, there was a lengthy TMO review to see if he lost the ball forward before he made his way to the tryline. However, the score was eventually given.

The result ended an eight-match losing streak for the Capetonians against the Kimberley outfit.

Discipline was a huge factor in the game, with the Stormers getting three yellow cards while Griquas received two.

One of the visitors’ yellows was upgraded to a 20-minute red card in the second half.

In total, the Stormers XXII, formerly known as Western Province, conceded a whopping 18 penalties in the match, which kept them on the back foot for large periods of the first half.

The Capetonians turned early pressure into three points when Jean-Luc du Plessis landed a penalty goal.

However, the Griquas machine started gaining momentum after that and with some patience on attack, Sako Makata powered his way over for a try in the 10th minute.

The home side suffered a setback in the 17th minute when lock Gerbrandt Grobler was yellow carded for a high tackle, before teammate Cornel Smit also received his marching orders a few minutes later for cynical play on the ground.

The pressure was too much for the home side, and it was Lourens Oosthuizen who went over for the visitors’ second try after a driving maul.

With just over two minutes to go before half-time, the Stormers gave their fans something to cheer about when hooker Vernon Paulo went into a gap to score a try after a smart line-out move.

At half-time, it was 12-8 to Griquas.

After soaking up some more pressure in the early stages of the second half, the Stormers found themselves in front in the 45th minute after Smit broke through Griquas’ defence before feeding the ball to Mfundo Ndhlovu, who slid over for the score.

After landing the conversion, Dominic Malgas gave the Stormers a six-point lead in the 53rd minute with a penalty goal.

However, that lead was cut a few minutes later when Tiaan Lang went over for a try for Griquas before George Whitehead put them back in front with the conversion.

The Stormers received their third yellow card after that, with Divan Fuller getting pinged for a high tackle.

Griquas were also down to 14 men in the 59th minute after replacement Derik Pretorius saw yellow for a dangerous clear-out before it was upgraded to a 20-minute red card.

The visitors shot themselves in the foot in the 74th minute when Carel van der Merwe was shown a yellow card for foul play after it looked like his side crossed the tryline for a try.

With the clock winding down, scrumhalf Ungerer scored the match-winner after finding space in the Griquas’ defence.

The scorers:

For Stormers XXIII:
Tries: Paulo, Ndhlovu, Ungerer
Cons: Malgas 2
Pens: Du Plessis, Malgas

For Griquas:
Tries: Makata, Oosthuizen, Lange
Cons: Whitehead 2

Twenty-minute red card (upgraded from yellow): Derik Pretorius (Griquas, 59′ – foul play, dangerous clear-out)

Yellow cards: Gerbrandt Grobler (Stormers XXIII, 17′ – foul play, high tackle); Cornel Smit (Stormers XXIII; 23′ – cynical play, playing the ball on the ground); Divan Fuller (Stormers XXIII, 57′ – foul play, high tackle), Carel van der Merwe (Griquas, 74′ – foul play, off the ball dangerous play.)

Teams:

Stormers XXIII: 15 Dylan Miller, 14 Gino Cupido, 13 Josh Boulle, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Mfundo Ndhlovu, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (captain), 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Divan Fuller, 6 Keke Morabe, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Tom Barnard, 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Oli Kebble.
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Mhleli Khuzwayo, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Enos Ndiao, 21 Xola Nyali, 22 Tiaan Fourie, 23 Dominic Malgas.

Griquas: 15 Gurswin Wehr, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Sako Makata, 11 Stefan Coetzee, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Dillon Smith, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg (captain), 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Carel van der Merwe, 21 Caleb Abrahams, 22 Damian Markus, 23 Cameron Hufke.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Assistant referees: Zoe Naude, Lulutho Matomela
TMO: Archie Moko