'Ugly win' is good for Stormers
It wasn't pretty, but it was good. That was the overriding view from the Stormers camp after they scraped to a 22-19 Super Rugby win over the Lions at the weekend.
The Stormers breathed a sigh of relief after holding off a late onslaught from the Lions in Johannesburg, to retain their place at the summit of the South African conference.
Playing in wet conditions at Ellis Park, the hosts took the early lead and maintained a 19-15 advantage in the dying stages, before Siya Kolisi barged over at the back of a maul to put his side in front for the first time in the game, and Kurt Coleman slotted the conversion.
Refusing to give up, the Lions surged forward in a final attempt to bag a crucial win, camping on the Stormers try-line after the horn had blown.
Howard Mnisi lost the ball in a tackle by Damian de Allende after crossing the whitewash, however, and the visitors held on to remain unbeaten from three matches.
"Whenever you come to Ellis Park the Lions throw everything at you, so you have to come prepared and there are sore bodies the next day," said De Allende.
"Credit to the Lions, and also credit to our defence. Our forward pack worked very hard."
While he was delighted to steal four points at the death, Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen admitted they needed to sharpen up if they hoped to continue their winning run in the campaign.
"Our set phases were definitely not good and our line-outs were terrible, but we're going to work on that," Vermeulen said.
"There are still a lot of games to play in this competition and we can only get better, so we're just going to go back and work on that."
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee praised his team for "playing the big points well".
"In the context of the match, the better team was the team that played the big points well and we did that," Coetzee said.
"The one line-out mattered and we took it [with Siya Kolisi's try] and Kurt Coleman kicked a brilliant [touchline] conversion that mattered too. The Lions were brave to go for it [the win], but in this competition you need to take the points on offer – especially at home.
"But, really, I thought the Lions were very brave and they played well. They had us under pressure but most of the time because of our own unforced errors – mainly in our set-piece.
"We showed intent with ball in hand but the only concern for me was our attacking breakdown. If we generated more quick ball we would've had more opportunities. Don't forget we were over the line twice but didn't have the tries awarded. I think we put them under pressure when we had the opportunity."
The Stormers are one of just three unbeaten teams remaining in the 2015 Super Rugby tournament, but the coach, Coetzee, remained adamant that his gutsy charges had plenty to work on.
"They were brave, but I am happy and grateful for the win, especially up here in Johannesburg. Remember, last year we lost heavily in our first game of the season [10-34], yet, this year, we showed plenty of guts and character to pull it through and I am very pleased with the result.
"We know we did badly in certain areas of the game but, yet, the character we showed – especially at the end – was something special.
"The Lions threw the kitchen sink at us, but couldn't get the victory and that was important for us and we need to take this momentum now further into the competition," said Coetzee.
"We stuck it out in tough conditions and despite not playing well, making a lot of unforced errors, we came away with the win. I know it might sound like a cliche but sometimes when you play badly and win it's a good thing."
The Stormers will play host to the Sharks at Newlands on Saturday, March 7 in their fourth clash – and second at home – in 2015.
