Bok star limps off as Glasgow Warriors outplay Stormers

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers suffered their third defeat in five games after they went down 17-28 to the Glasgow Warriors in Stellenbosch on Saturday.

The visitors outscored the home side by four tries to two on their way to securing a bonus point.

It means they will head back to Scotland with seven log points after they secured two losing bonus points against the Sharks in a 24-28 defeat a week earlier.

The match also saw Stormers and Springbok star Damian Willemse limp off with an injury late in the first half. Springbok loose forward Ben-Jason Dixon also left the field earlier in the half.

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The visitors looked dangerous with ball in hand in the opening quarter of the game and they were camped in the Stormers’ half without any reward.

After being under constant pressure, the Stormers thought they had opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after Leolin Zas showed great control to kick a loose ball ahead and gather it before going over the Glasgow tryline.

However, the play was brought back for a knock-on deep inside the home side’s half.

The Stormers were also guilty of wasting try-scoring opportunities in the strike zone, but they did make one count in the 34th minute.

Willemse scored that first try in the 34th minute after he was put into space by Warrick Gelant for an easy run towards the Glasgow tryline.

However, the Stormers suffered a double blow in the 37th minute with Willemse leaving the field with an injury before Manie Libbok was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.

Not long after that, Glasgow hit back with a try by Johnny Matthews after a strong driving maul.

Adam Hastings levelled the scores with his conversion and at half-time, it was 7-7.

It was a brilliant start to the second half for the visitors with captain Sione Tuipulotu chasing the ball after a great chip kick from Sebastian Cancelliere before gathering and scoring in the corner.

Hastings added another two points for a seven-point lead.

After a series of penalties inside the Glasgow 22, the Stormers found a way to hit back. The ball went wide to captain Dan du Plessis, who weaved his way over for his team’s second try.

Libbok levelled the scores with his conversion.

Glasgow thought they regained the lead in the 60th minute when Cancelliere dived over for a try after a sensational break by Tuipulotu in the midfield.

However, the try was ruled out after the midfielder got the ball from a forward pass.

Instead, the Stormers found themselves in front in the 64th minute after a Libbok penalty.

That lead didn’t last long as Glasgow scored immediately after the restart when Kyle Rowe showed some brilliant skills to kick the ball down the touchline before gathering and scoring a try.

Tom Jordan made it a four-point lead with his conversion.

Glasgow secured the bonus point in the 71st minute when Henco Venter showed his power to crash over the Stormers’ tryline.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: Willemse, Du Plessis
Cons: Libbok 2
Pen: Libbok

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Matthews, Tuipulotu, Rowe, Venter
Cons: Hastings 2, Jordan 2

Yellow card: Manie Libbok (Stormers, 37′ – cynical play, deliberate knock-on)

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Dan du Plessis (captain), 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Adre Smith, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Louw Nel, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Suleiman Hartzenberg.

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (captain), 11 Kyle Rowe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Gregor Brown, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Max Williamson, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Tom Jordan.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Christopher Allison (South Africa)
TMO: Chris Busby (Ireland)

Photo credit: Hansie Linde