All Blacks Late Surge Seals Win Over Stormers

Despite a spirited performance during their pre-season preparations, the Stormers went down 38-21 to the All Blacks on a cold Friday night at DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

The visitors crossed for six tries to the Stormers’ three, but the final scoreline scarcely reflected the intensity and competitiveness of the contest. Until the closing stages, the home side matched the All Blacks physically and produced a wholehearted display that repeatedly tested the world’s second-ranked team before the visitors pulled away in the final 10 minutes.

The pre-match festivities began in spectacular fashion, with a state-of-the-art light show setting the scene at a well-attended DHL Stadium.

The opening quarter was played at a blistering pace, with the All Blacks in particular embracing an expansive, high-tempo style. However, two yellow cards shifted the momentum and allowed the Stormers back into the contest.

The visitors signalled their attacking intent from the outset, stretching the field with quick ball movement and exploiting the full width of the pitch. Peter Lakai produced an early line break, slicing through the Stormers’ defensive line as the All Blacks looked to impose themselves.

The relentless tempo left the Stormers pinned inside their own half for much of the opening exchanges, forcing the home side into repeated defensive efforts.

The All Blacks struck first in the sixth minute when sustained pressure from a rolling maul paid dividends, allowing hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho to power over for the opening try of the tour.

Beauden Barrett added the conversion to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead.

The Stormers continued to struggle with the All Blacks’ pace through the line. Cortez Ratima exploited a gap before Barrett chased his own grubber kick, coming agonisingly close to the try line in what would have been a sensational score.

The home side finally gained some momentum in the 10th minute after earning a succession of penalties. Their sustained pressure resulted in a yellow card for Anton Lienert-Brown, whose high tackle on Jonny Roche was judged to have involved shoulder-to-head contact.

With the numerical advantage, the Stormers thought they had crossed for their opening points, but the try was ruled out. Moments later, Simon Parker was also shown a yellow card for an offside infringement, reducing the All Blacks to 13 men.

The Stormers capitalised almost immediately. From the ensuing phase, veteran flanker Deon Fourie powered over for the home side’s opening try, with rising star Yaqeen Ahmed adding the conversion to level the scores at 7-7.

With the All Blacks restored to their full complement, the remainder of the first half developed into a tense battle of attrition. Despite enjoying the greater share of territory and possession, the world’s second-ranked side found the Stormers’ defence difficult to breach. Only some untidy handling from Billy Proctor denied the visitors another scoring opportunity.

The pressure eventually told as the All Blacks created an overlap out wide before Simon Parker forced his way over despite the combined efforts of Hacjivah Dayimani and Evan Roos to hold him up.

Barrett converted to give the All Blacks a 14-7 advantage heading into the half-time break.

HALF-TIME: STORMERS 7-14 ALL BLACKS

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, with bone-crunching collisions and relentless intensity defining the opening exchanges. At the heart of the Stormers’ resurgence was the evergreen 39-year-old Deon Fourie, whose influence on the contest continued to grow.

After producing a crucial turnover at the breakdown, Fourie played a pivotal role once again. From the ensuing lineout following the penalty, the veteran flanker delivered a sublime pop pass to the onrushing Seabelo Senatla, who carved through the defence on a perfectly timed line before gliding over for a superb try.

Ahmed added the conversion to level the scores for the second time in the match with 56 minutes on the clock.

The All Blacks regained control with two tries in the space of five minutes. The first came in the 67th minute after the visitors worked their way deep into the Stormers’ 22. From the base of the ruck, Rieko Ioane spotted Dayimani drifting in defence, exploited the gap and dived over for the try.

Four minutes later, the visitors struck again. Lakai sparked the attack with a powerful line break that left the Stormers’ defence scrambling before Leroy Carter showed impressive footwork and balance to wriggle over for the score.

Barrett converted the first try before Josh Jacomb added the extras to the second, extending the All Blacks’ lead to 28-14 with just under 10 minutes remaining and leaving the visitors firmly in control.

Josh Moorby scored the fifth try after charging down Dayimani’s attempted clearance, before Asafo Aumua rounded off the victory with the visitors’ sixth try to seal a convincing win in the opening match of the Greatest Rivalry Series.