Koch saves sloppy Stormers

The Stormers failed to rock up and the Sunwolves took full advantage. But Koch rocked up just when it seemed that the home side would bag the morale-boosting victory. The Stormers looked lethargic and sloppy throughout the encounter while the Sunwolves feasted on those mistakes.

Jean-Luc du Plessis and Tusi Pisi traded penalties in the opening five minutes but both sides struggled to settle into any rhythm in the humid conditions. Seven minutes later and the Sunwolves launched their first meaningful attack.

The backline was brought into the game and a few passes later, found themselves within inches of the Stormers' try line. The visitors were scrambling to get numbers behind the ball and it was quick thinking by Akihito Yamada that handed the hosts the first try of the match as he touched down in the left corner.

Pisi missed the conversion but the Sunwolves had an 8-3 lead after 13 minutes.

The Stormers began to see more of the ball and built up an attack from inside their half of the field but lost possession on the Sunwolves' five metre line. The attack lacked creativity and the Sunwolves took full advantage.

The home side went on the attack and after sustained pressure, a Stormers error led to Pisi extending the lead to 11-3 after 27 minutes. The Stormers remained under immense pressure and found themselves 3-14 down as Pisi slotted his third penalty of the match five minutes later.

The Stormers were beginning to find their feet but the unforced errors remained and they spurned numerous attacking opportunities. The Sunwolves held onto their 11 point lead at the half-time interval.

The Sunwolves came out strong and nearly grabbed their second try through Yamada but he had too many attempts at placing the ball over the line and the try was denied. It mattered little though as Pisi extended the lead to 14 points with a 49th minute penalty.

The visitors brought on some fresh legs and dominated the next 10 minutes. The continued pressure on the Sunwolves led to the lock Pieter-Steph du Toit muscling his way over the try line. Du Plessis added the extras to reduce the deficit to seven points with 20 minutes remaining.

The remainder of the match was exactly like the minutes that went before it. The Stormers continued to make error after error and the Sunwolves just kept plugging away. However, Cheslin Kolbe got the Stormers onto the front foot with a trademark run.

A few phases later, and with mere seconds remaining, Koch picked the ball from the back of the ruck and barged his over the line. Replacement flyhalf Brandon Thomson held his nerve to add the conversion and ensure the Stormers claimed the draw.

Man of the match: Pieter-Steph du Toit was the only Stormers player to actually rock up at the match as carried his side through the 80 minutes. Akihito Yamada has a steady game when he was handed the ball and fullback Riaan Viljoen was once again at his best. However, the man who ran the show and kept the Sunwolves on the front foot is the one who gets the nod – none other than flyhalf Tusi Pisi.

Scorers:

For the Sunwolves:

Try: Yamada

Pens: Pisi 4

For the Stormers:

Tries: du Toit, Koch

Cons: du Plessis, Thomson

Pen: du Plessis

Teams:

Sunwolves: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Derek Carpenter, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa (captain), 11 John Stewart, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Atsushi Hiwasha, 8 Ed Quirk, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Liaki Moli, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Timothy Bond, 3 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 2, Takeshi Kizu, 1 Masataka Mikami.

Replacements: 16 Shota Horie, 17 Ziun Gu, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Yoshiya Hosoda, 20 Taiyo Ando, 21 Yuki Yatomi, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Mifiposeti Paea.

Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Juan de Jongh (co-captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kobus van Wyk, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Frans Malherbe (co-captain), 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.

Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Huw Jones.

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)