Stormers leave it late against Reds

With 20 minutes remaining the Reds still held a five-point lead – before three penalties by rookie replacement flyhalf Brandon Thomson and a try by prop Vincent Koch on full-time hooter took the home team clear.

Despite the sloppy nature of the win, it cemented the Stormers' place at the top of the African conference – with their sixth win in their eighth matches.

The visitors struck early with a penalty from flyhalf Jake McIntyre after his opposite number Jean-Luc du Plessis was blown up for not rolling away in the tackle.

It did not take long for the Stormers to respond, and an extended period of pressure in the Reds 22 wing Kobus van Wyk pounced on a loose ball to go over unopposed for the try which put them 7-3 up once converted by Du Plessis.

The Stormers kept the pressure on, and after a few searching runs from the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Nic Groom they were able to score their second try as Leolin Zas forced his way over from close range to take their lead out to 14-3 after 20 minutes.

The Reds hit back with a try of their own from flank Liam Gill who scored under the poles from close range to cut the Stormers' lead to 14-10.

The Stormers responded by camping in opposition territory, and the Reds eventually strayed offside which resulted in a penalty from the boot of Du Plessis which put them 17-10 up at the half-time break.

The visitors scored two tries early in the second half – as first fullback Karmichael Hunt finished off a counter-attack from a charge down, before Eto Nabuli added to that shortly afterwards to give them the lead.

However, that lead did not last long as Stormers scrumhalf Nic Groom scored next to the poles shortly afterwards to put his side 24-22 up.

That left the game right in the balance with 25 minutes to play, and Stormers coach Robbie Fleck made a number of changes as Schalk Burger, JC Janse van Rensburg, Huw Jones, JD Schickerling and debutant Brandon Thomson all took to the field.

Thomson slotted three penalties after coming on to close out the game, with the third penalty also resulting in a yellow card for Reds prop Sam Talakai after repeated infringements from his side.

The Stormers had the final say as Vincent Koch crossed for a try after the hooter following a searing run from Jones, to put the seal on a comfortable victory in the end.

Man of the match: You can always count on Liam Gill to put his body on the line, while Curtis Browning provided great support to his fellow loose forward. Samu Kerevi also asked some questions of the Stormers' defence. Nizaam Carr and Siyamthanda Kolisi were both very energetic, but also made a number of unforced errors. Rynhardt Elstadt and Pieter-Steph du Toit were both physical, while Mbongeni Mbonambi was also busy at times. In a game of few real highlights – which at times resembled a comedy of errors – Stormers flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis produced some of the best gems. However, it was the replacements who saved the day for the Stormers – especially veteran loose forward Schalk Burger's leadership. Rookie flyhalf Brandon Thomson kicked three penalties on debut and producing some crucial plays to win our award.

The scorers:

For the Stormers:

Tries: Van Wyk, Zas, Groom, Koch

Cons: Du Plessis 3, Thomson

Pens: Du Plessis, Thomson 3

For the Reds:

Tries: Gill, Hunt, Nabuli

Cons: McIntyre 2

Pen: McIntyre

Yellow card:  Sam Talakai (Reds, 72 – cynical foul, offside close to his line)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Damian de Allende (captain), 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Oliver Kebble.

Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Jean-Pierre Smith, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Brandon Thomson.

Reds: 15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Junior Laloifi, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Curtis Browning, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Ben Matwijow, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Andrew Ready, 1 James Slipper (captain).

Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Sef Fa'agase, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Michael Gunn, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Duncan Paia'aua, 23 Ayumu Goromaru.

Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen

Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Cwengile Jadezweni

TMO: Shaun Veldsman