Stormers Losing Steam As Lions Get A Win At Ellis Park

The DHL Stormers had themselves to blame as a plethora of handling errors, despite dominance at scrum time and in territory, saw the Cape outfit lose 24-10 against the Lions in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at a sparsely attended Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions defended with 13 men towards the end of the game, but put on a resolute defensive effort in the face of some fiery attacking play by the Stormers that lacked cutting edge and ruthless efficiency. 

It was the Stormers’ third successive defeat and third derby defeat as their slide down the table will now send alarm bells ringing among management and supporters alike. 

At times, watching that first half, one would be left wondering how a team that went eight games unbeaten in the URC now looked so far off the pace. 

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the first attempt at goal of the game, a monstrous 60 metre kick which easily had the distance but lacked the accuracy – a signal to the Lions to not infringe within sight of goal. 

The Lions threatened with a superb counter-attacking move as they scythed through the Stormers’ defence before Angelo Davids was brought down metres from the line. Bronson Mills was unable to release the ball in the ensuing scrambling, allowing the Stormers to win the penalty.

The opening 20 minutes were a battle of attrition as both teams wrestled ascendancy from one another – but the Lions drew first blood on the Highveld after a box kick by Morne Van Den Berg saw Angelo Davids retrieve the ball before some slick handling saw it offloaded to Siba Mahashe for an eye-catching try.

The reliable Chris Smith put over the extras as the Lions ran into a 7-0 lead. 

Van den Berg continued to probe, and in the 25th minute his deft kick through the middle exposed uncertainty in the Stormers’ defence. The bounce favoured the hosts, and Henco van Wyk reacted quickest to dot down for the second try.

Smith slotted the conversion right under the posts as the Lions raced into a 14-0 lead after a deadlocked opening 20 minutes.

The Stormers thought they got over the line with Wandisile Simelane, but some dogged defence from Van Den Berg resulted in him being held up. 

Handling errors plagued the Stormers’ efforts throughout the half. Five in the opening 15 minutes proved their Achilles as it disrupted any rhythm they tried to build, and the mistakes continued – including another costly knock-on from Ben-Jason Dixon in the 32nd minute. They proved to be their own worst enemies, repeatedly surrendering momentum.

The visitors thought they had finally broken through when Wandisile Simelane crossed the line, but a determined defence – in particular by Van den Berg – held him up and preserved the Lions’ advantage going into half-time. 

HALF-TIME: LIONS 14-0 STORMERS

The Stormers got off the scoreboard with a Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty in the 43rd minute to take the score to 14-3.

From the subsequent attack, the Lions crossed the gain line and got forward with great intensity, resulting in Erich Cronje scoring the Lions’ third try.

The unmistakable Smith made no mistake with the conversion attempt as the Lions extended their lead to 21-3.

The Stormers had a 50th-minute Marcel Theunissen try disallowed for an obstruction as he crossed the line, but five minutes later they were not to be denied as some quick recycling and a deft pass from Roos allowed captain JD Schickerling to dot down under the posts. 

Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted the conversion as the score moved to 21-10. 

With the Lions pegging the Stormers back around their 22, Dylan Maart attempted running from his half but got tackled and conceded a penalty with which Smith duly obliged to take the score to 24-10 with 58 minutes gone. 

In a moment of controversy in the 68th minute, Andre-Hugo Venter had his try attempt also held up – as the Lions’ Sibabalo Qoma was sent to the sin-bin for an infringement in the act of Venter scoring a try, while Schickerling questioned whether the offence warranted a penalty try. 

Just a minute later, Conraad Van Vuuren was also sent to the bin for a shoulder-to-head collision – which eventually got upgraded to a red card upon review – as the Lions defended bravely with just 13 men. 

Despite the challenges, the Lions showed off a resolute defensive display to hold on against the odds, while the Stormers went back to the drawing board and will want to see the back of their fellow South African sides.