Bonus for Stormers in Sydney
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Two late tries saw the Stormers claim an impressive 32-18 bonus point victory over the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
Inside centre Damian de Allende grabbed a double as the visitors outscored the defending champions by four tries to two to move past them on the Super Rugby standings
It was the Cape Town-based team's first win in Sydney since 2007 as they flustered the Waratahs with their straight line defence after trailing 15-13 at half-time.
The Stormers went into the match losing their previous nine matches outside South Africa, but they grew in confidence in a tremendous second-half performance against the ragged Waratahs.
Apart from their fleet-footed backs, it was the Stormers' magnificent unyielding defence which kept the defending Super Rugby champions try-less in the second half on their home ground.
The Stormers opened the scoring with a penalty from Demetri Catrakilis, and although his opposite number Bernard Foley missed his first shot at goal it was not long before the Waratahs hit back with a try in the corner from Taqele Naiyaravoro after Israel Folau had burst through a gap.
Their lead did not last long as Catrakilis kicked his second penalty straight afterwards and the visitors followed that up with a try from De Allende which put them 13-5 up.
The Waratahs hit back with a penalty from Foley, and they snatched the lead back just before half-time when Rob Horne snuck over in the corner following an attacking scrum.
The lead changed hands again at the start of the second half when the Stormers scored from their own 22 with Kobus van Wyk latching on to a chip kick from replacement flyhalf Kurt Coleman to race away and score.
Foley missed another kick at goal which nearly resulted in a Waratahs try after the ball bounced off the upright, and after a period in pressure in the 22 he got another chance and made no mistake to cut the deficit to 20-18.
The game was in the balance as it headed towards the final stages, but an intercept from Juan de Jongh put De Allende away for his second try, and they wrapped the bonus point up with another late runaway try to fullback Cheslin Kolbe to cap a committed performance.
Skipper De Jongh, who recovered from an ankle injury to take his place, said he was proud of his team's performance.
"It's never easy to come to Sydney and beat the defending champions and get a bonus point as well," de Jongh said.
"It was a committed performance and our defence was rock-solid and that gave us the front-foot ball and we scored some lovely tries."
It was sloppy display from the Waratahs, who gave up the ball too frequently against the hard-hitting Stormers.
"We knew they would have a lot of numbers in the line to defend quite well and we weren't good enough to get the line breaks and the tries we needed," captain Dave Dennis said.
"We just didn't adjust to what they threw at us."
The Stormers face the Force in Perth next weekend on their way home, while the Waratahs face competition leaders Hurricanes in New Zealand.
Man of the match: For the Waratahs Israel Folau showed flashes of brilliance and Jacques Potgieter was destructive, while for the Stormers Eben Etzebeth was powerful and Juan de Jongh showed his value on defence and attack but most impressive was Damian de Allende who contributed far more than just his two tries.
The scorers:
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Naiyaravoro, Horne
Con: Foley
Pens: Foley 2
for the Stormers:
Tries: De Allende 2, Van Wyk, Kolbe
Cons: Catrakilis, Coleman 2
Pens: Catrakilis 2
Teams:
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Jacques Potgieter, 5 David Dennis (captain), 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mitchell Chapman, 20 Pat McCutcheon, 21 Stephen Hoiles, 22 Brendan McKibbin, 23 Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones.
Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner, James Leckie (New Zealand)
TMO: Peter Marshall
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