Stormers thrash poor Force

Editor

The Stormers climbed off the bottom of the Super Rugby standings on Saturday with a one-sided 24-8 win over the Western Force at Newlands.

The Stormers moved off the bottom of the table after securing a 24-8 victory over the Western Force in Cape Town on Saturday.

The men from the Cape dominated for large periods and outscored the visitors by three tries to one.

The home side suffered a minor setback shortly before kick-off when their captain Schalk Burger withdrew through injury but his absence wasn't so severe as the visitors had an able replacement in fellow Springbok Siya Kolisi.

The Stormers had the better of the early exchanges and spent most of the early part of the game camped inside the visitors' 22.

After the Stormers forwards tried unsuccessfully to force their way over the visitors' try-line, Nic Groom went over the whitewash after spotting a gap at a ruck.

His effort was disallowed, however, after the television match official ruled that he didn't release the ball after being tackled in the build-up.

The home side opened the scoring via a Peter Grant penalty in the 16th minute but the game came alive shortly afterwards when Juan de Jongh got in for the opening try.

As they had earlier, the Stormers had initially tried to get over the whitewash with brute force with their forwards but after another heroic defensive effort from their counterparts the ball was spun wide to the backs and De Jongh rounded off in the left hand corner, after being put in the clear by a perfectly-timed pass from Cheslin Kolbe.

Grant added the extras but the Force narrowed the gap to seven points, via the kicking tee, shortly afterwards when Duane Vermeulen was penalized for holding onto the ball at the bottom of a ruck.

The rest of the half was an attritional affair with play mostly restricted to the forwards. The Stormers had opportunities to increase their lead but instead of kicking for goal they opted to put the ball into touch.

From there they would go on the drive but this tactic reaped little reward as the Force thwarted them on each occasion.

The visitors were however reduced to 14 men when Adam Coleman was sent to the sin-bin for collapsing one of the home side's mauls illegally in the 37th minute.

His actions would prove costly as the Stormers would score 14 unanswered points during his spell on the sidelines.

Shorlty before half-time, the visitors were awarded a Penalty Try after the Force's pack capitulated under immense pressure at a scrum close to their try-line.

Grant added the extras which meant the hosts were leading 17-3 at the break and there was more to come shortly after the restart.

The Stormers continued where they left off after the break and after a period of sustained pressure Ruan Botha got his name onto the scoresheet when he barged over the visitors' try-line from close range in the 46th minute.

The Force fought back gallantly but, just like their own heroic defensive effort in the first half, the Stormers were now putting their bodies on the line with some big hits.

The hosts' over exuberance in the tackle got the better of them, during the latter stages, when Kolbe and Jaco Taute were both issued yellow cards in quick succession for slowing the ball down cynically at rucks.

The Force were now dominant and they were rewarded with a consolation try by their skipper Matt Hodgson in the 70th minute.

The scorers:

For Stormers:
Tries: De Jongh, Penalty Try, Botha
Cons: Grant 3
Pen: Grant
Yellow Cards: Kolbe, Taute

For Force:
Try: Hodgson
Pen: Ebersohn
Yellow Card: Coleman

Stormers: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger (c), 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Brok Harris.
Replacements: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Dylon Frylinck, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Michael van der Spuy.

Western Force: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Marcel Brache, 13 Chris Tuatara-Morrison, 12 Luke Burton, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Ian Prior, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (c), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Wykes, 3 Kieran Longbottom, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Ollie Hoskins, 19 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 20 Brynard Stander, 21 Justin Turner, 22 Zack Holmes, 23 Patrick Dellit.

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

by David Skippers, at Newlands in Cape Town