Stormers go top after brutal contest

The Stormers held on in the face of a fierce second-half comeback by the Bulls to eke out a 15-13 Super Rugby win at Newlands on Saturday.

Stormers skipper Duane Vermeulen, who produced a man of the match performance,  blocked a late drop-goal attempt by Bulls flyhalf Handré Pollard to help his team win a pulsating and at time brutal clash.

Bulls were pressing hard deep in Stormers territory to wipe out a two-point deficit as time ticked away.

Then opportunity knocked for the Pretoria outfit, when Pollard received the ball in a favourable drop-goal position just outside the 22-metre line.

But current Springbok No. 8, Vermeulen, charged at the flyhalf, blocked his kick, and hacked the ball to safety.

The win – in front of more than 50,000 vociferous spectators – not only gave the Stormers a season double over their arch rivals in the competitions biggest derby, but it also saw them claim first place in the South African conference.

After leading 12-3 at the end of a penalty-riddled first half, the Cape Town-based franchise desperately hung on in the dying stages as the Bulls launched several threatening raids.

The Bulls looked more likely to score tries that an intense second half and also got the game's only five-pointer, while the Stormers relied ever-more on their famed defence.

Hyped for days as a classic South African derby, the match lived up to expectations.

There was only one try – Bulls left-wing Bjorn Basson scoring after a wonderful counter-attack – but the match offered much for the capacity crowd.

The Stormers won a titanic scrums struggle and Bulls took the line-out honours partly because of several overly-long throws from the home team.

Every loose ball was ferociously contested with 2014 South African Rugby Player of the Year Vermeulen regularly in the thick of the action.

Among the backs, Bulls right wing Francois Hougaard continued excellent recent form and had a major role in the try.

Flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis succeeded with all five penalty kicks for the Stormers, who dominated possession and territory for much of the opening half and turned over 12-3 ahead.

Rival playmaker Pollard slotted two penalties, converted the Basson try, and saw an ambitious 50-metre angled shot at goal drift right of the far post.

"A huge crowd, a wonderful atmosphere and a Stormers victory – what more do you want?" asked Vermeulen.

"It was a massive occasion and we were  lucky to come out on top. I knew it was going to be tough and I am thrilled that we won."

Bulls skipper and No. 8 Pierre Spies said: "I am proud of the way we fought back, having twice trailed by nine points during the opening half.

"We were often under pressure at scrum time, but we put the Stormers under pressure when it came to the line-outs."  

Catrakilis kicked three penalties as the Stormers spent virtually the first 20 minutes camped in Bulls' territory.

When the visitors applied sustained pressure for the first time, they were rewarded with a Pollard penalty only for Catrakilis to get another in first-half stoppage-time.

Basson sped down the left wing two minutes into the second half and dotted down for a try Pollard converted

Catrakilis and Pollard exchanged penalties to leave the Stormers 15-13 ahead and although the last 25 minutes were scoreless, there was no shortage of drama with the Bulls in the ascendancy.

Man of the match: Francois Hougaard again showed that he is a better wing than scrumhalf, while Bjorn Basson showed he is still a pure-bred speedster. Grant Hattingh worked hard and won a couple of crucial line-out turnovers. Jacques du Plessis was the Bulls muscle up front. Johnny Kotze and Damian de Allende kept the Bulls' defence honest. Siya Kolisi Eben Etzebeth and Schalk Burger were the Stormers' energiser bunnies. There should also be plaudits for Stormers tighthead prop Frans Malherbe for his powerful scrumming. However, our award goes to Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen, who again showed why he is rate the Best No.8 in the world at present  – a rock on defence and some crucial turnovers, not to mention his cover work and defence.

Scorers:

For the Stormers:

Pens: Catrakilis 5

For the Bulls:

Try: Basson

Con: Pollard

Pens: Pollard 2

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Johnny Kotze, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Pat Howard, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.

Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones.

Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Pierre Spies (captain), 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Grant Hattingh, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Callie Visagie, 17 Morné Mellett, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Arno Botha, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Akona Ndungane, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Jurgen Visser.

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Assistant referees: Jason Jaftha, Francois Pretorius

TMO: Shaun Veldsman