The Chiefs beat the Stormers 9-15 in a dour Super Rugby clash at Newlands, Cape Town.
This was not a classic. It was error-strewn and pedestrian from both sides.
It was Robbie fleck’s side’s first loss at home this season, while it is the sixth time in the past eight meetings that the New Zealanders have come out on top.
This loss was the first the Stormers have suffered at home all season.
Damian Willemse kicked an early penalty to give his side the lead.
The first-half was a forgettable affair littered with handling mistakes and ponderous rugby.
The Chiefs scored a superbly worked try when Anton Lienert-Brown crossed the whitewash.
Damian McKenzie had been probing the Stormers back three with little dink kicks.
He tried another and got the reward he sought.
The ball bounced unkindly for Dillyn Leyds and into the arms of Solomon Alaimalo.
The winger stepped inside Leyds and SP Marais and offloaded out the back door to Lienert-Brown, who sauntered in for the try.
The first-half was error-strewn. Both teams making handling mistakes and giving away too many penalties.
There were 13 penalties and 10 handling mistakes before the break.
The second-half started much the same. Both teams were looking for territory and were playing the percentages.
McKenzie missed another kick, this time well wide of the posts.
The game was tight and usually, a team that loves to attack like the Chiefs would have gone for the corner and rolling maul.
Willemse kicked a 54th-minute penalty to give his side a one-point advantage.
It was as good as it would get for the home team.
The Chiefs started to string long series of phases and kept the ball in hand, well.
They were camped inside the Stormers 22 for much of the next 15 minutes.
The pressure eventually told and the Blue wall cracked.
The Stormers’ scrum was bulldozed after the Chiefs spent an age inside their 22.
A penalty try resulted from another destructive scrum which made it a one-score game.
McKenzie, who had missed all three of his previous kicks at goal, did not miss from in front, giving his team a cushioned nine-point advantage with five minutes remaining.
Marais added three before the end, but time ran out for the South Africans.
Stormers versus Chiefs video highlights.
Final score: Stormers 9 (3) Chiefs 15 (5)
Scorers
Stormers
Tries –
Pen – Willemse (2), Marais
Con –
Drop –
Cards –
Chiefs
Tries – Lienert-Brown, Penalty try
Pen – D. McKenzie
Con –
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Mike Fraser:
Assistant Ref 1: Nick Briant
Assistant Ref 2: Quinton Immelman
TMO: Willie Vos
Teams
Stormers
15 Sarel Marais, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Johannes Engelbrecht, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Jacobus Janse van Rensburg, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Chiefs
15 Charlie Ngatai (captain), 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Faauli, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Liam Messam, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Michael Allardice, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe.
Replacements: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Jesse Parete, 20 Pita Gus Sowakula, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Shaun Stevenson.
