VIDEO: Stormers find some 'diamonds' in Kimberley

SUPER RUGBY UNLOCKED MATCH REPORT: The Stormers finally got some value out of their Springbok stars, as they routed a hapless Griquas 39-6 in Kimberley on Saturday.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective – six tries without reply on a hot and windy day.

For coach John Dobson and his charges, it was ‘job done’.

The Stormers had a clear advantage in the set pieces – with Griquas’ line-outs a royal mess and the scrums becoming an ever-increasing problem for the hosts.

Their dominance reflected in the fact that the Stormers had more than 70 percent of the possession in the first half.

When the home team did have the ball – those sporadic moments of possession – they seemed predictable and without much venom in their attack.

Even though Griquas saw a bit more of the ball after the break, Stormers still dominated possession (60 percent) and as a result continued to dominate the scoreboard.

And Griquas continue to waste the limited opportunities they had with the ball in hand.

* Did you miss any of the action? To recap all the drama, CLICK HERE!

After a nervous start, Stormers fullback Warrick Gelant ghosted into a gap and offloaded to Ernst van Rhyn for the opening try – just short of the 10-minute mark.

Tinus de Beer and Damian Willemse then exchanged penalties – leaving the Stormers ahead 8-3 by the time the first water break arrived in a hot and windy Kimberley.

Gelant was also heavily involved in the second try, scored by rookie prop Neethling Fouche. Willemse added the conversion for a 15-3 lead after 35 minutes.

Willemse had a late chance to stretch his team’s lead, but the kick – on the stroke of half-time – drifted wide.

De Beer had a shot at goal from the restart, the result of a really silly penalty given away – narrowing the gap to 6-15.

Five minutes later De Beer had another shot at goal – a deliberate knock-on – but this time he pushed it wide to the right from right in front.

Stormers wing Angelo Davids made Griquas pay dearly for their sloppy play, when he pounced on a ball that was hacked ahead after a sloppy pass, for the third try. Willemse was also wide of the mark – 20-6.

That became 27-6 – when the Stormers’ backs finally clicked and Dan du Plessis finished off a great team try that started inside their own half. Willemse found the target with the conversion.

Davids then set up No.8 Juarno Augustus for the fifth try – stepping his way past a few would-be defenders. Willemse was again wide with the conversion attempt – 32-6.

The domination up front created opportunities and Willemse strolled over for the sixth try, with just under 10 minutes remaining. This time he added the extras – 39-6.

That’s how it stayed to the end and what became a scrappy finish to the match.

Man of the match: You can always count on Zak Burger for some Griquas energy, Johnathan Francke and Tinus de Beer did some yeoman work on defence. The big names in the Stormers pack – Juarno Augustus, John Schickerling, Mbongeni Mbonambi and Steven Kitshoff all made significant contributions in a dominant showing. Stormers wing Angelo Davids showed his Sevens skills and was rewarded with a try. Our award goes to World Cup-winning Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant – who produced a bit of everything. The was some incredulous kicking and he was also very creative – including setting up the first try for Ernst van Rhyn.

The scorers

For Griquas
Pens: De Beer 2

For the Stormers
Tries: Van Rhyn, Fouche, Davids, Du Plessis, Augustus, Willemse
Cons: Willemse 3
Pen: Willemse

Teams

Griquas: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Eduan Keyter, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Carl Els, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 André Smith, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 Hendrik Luus, 1 Mox Mxoli.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Madot Mabokela, 19 Ewan Coetzee, 20 Johan Momsen, 21 Theo Maree, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Harlon Klaasen.

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 John Schickerling, 4 David Meihuizen, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Ruhan Nel.

Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Griffin Colby
TMO: Aimee Barrett-Theron