The Reds beat the Stormers 24-12 after a dour Super Rugby clash at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Tate McDermott put the game to bed when he scored with 12 minutes to play. The scrumhalf was outstanding, along with his captain Samu Kerevi, who was a wrecking ball in midfield.
The defeat is the Stormers‘ 11th in the last 15 Super Rugby matches against the Queensland Reds and 11th successive loss outside of South Africa.
Another loss continues their wretched record at Suncorp where they’ve not won since 2012.
Robbie Fleck’s team has now lost 11 of their last 12 away games which is not surprising considering their insipid attack.
The Reds were good value after the break, keeping the visitors to two tries while scoring three themselves.
Zero-Zero
Both teams went into the shed without troubling the scorers, although, the Stormers went close twice.
Damian Willemse’s pace and finish almost saw him score an unlikely opener, but he could only dot down on the dead-ball line after gathering Damian de Allende’s grubber.
Sergeal Petersen dived over in the corner after an 11-phase attack, but the winger stepped out of play before grounding thanks to a last-gasp tackle from Hamish Stewart.
Both teams were struggling to string together sustained periods of attack. Handling errors mounted as the ball was spilt in contact or passed forward.
Video Highlights: Reds versus Stormers
In all, the visitors conceded 17 turnovers, much too many.
There was no intensity, no tempo; the pace slow. Penalties were shared at the breakdown and set-pieces. The game turned because of more ill-discipline.
The Stormers shipped 11 penalties. Siya Kolisi’s yellow card in the final minute of the first half proved costly because the Australians punished the Stormers after the break.
It was the first scoreless first half of a Super Rugby match since 2013, which also involved the Cape Town team.
But the deadlock was broken
Thorn’s charges came out firing, blowing the Stormers away with a two-try blitz, crucial in any low scoring game.
Samu Kerevi and Brandon Paenga-Amosa scored to put the Reds 14-nil up six minutes after the interval.
The Kerevi played a one-two with his midfield partner Sefa Naivalu before he raced away under the posts.
Some sustained pressure had paid off. Kerevi was enforcing his will on the game and opponents. The 25-year-old was Creator in Chief.
He swatted away defenders with ease, often crossed the gain line as he tested the will of the opposing centres.
He broke through some soft tackling, carrying man and ball. Loosehead prop Frans Malherbe could not get hold of him and Cobus Wiese could not bring him down before the damage was done.
Kerevi’s little chicken-wing offload to standoff Bryce Hegarty was sublime. Hegarty’s raced away, swerving Petersen before setting Stewart’ in support, carried the ball further.
The fullback was brought down before McDermott sniped around the ruck and was hauled down around the collar by Corne Fourie.
They recycled the ball, bashed with their big ball carriers before Paenga-Amosa forced his way over the whitewash.
Kolisi’s sin-binning had effectively killed any chance of the South Africans claiming a rare win on the road.
The Stormers did, however, hit back after Kolisi’s return when Kobus van Dyk crashed over after a five-metre scrum.
There was no comeback. McDermott’s quick-thinking extended Queensland’s lead back to two converted tries, 16 minutes later.
The scrumhalf took a quick-tap penalty and darted through some slack defending.
Damian de Allende scored a well-worked try to give the tourists a sniff, but that was all the sorry Stormers could muster.
Hegarty put the game to bed with a last-minute penalty to extend the Stormers’ woeful away record.
Final Score: Reds 24 (0) Stormers 12 (0)
Scorers
Reds
Tries – Kerevi, Paenga-Amosa, McDermott
Pen – Hegarty
Con – Hegarty (3)
Drop –
Cards –
Stormers
Tries – Van Dyk, De Allende
Pen –
Con – J. Du Plessis
Drop –
Cards – Kolisi (Yellow, 40′)
Match Officials
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Ref 1: AJ Jacobs
Assistant Ref 2: Nic Berry
TMO: James Leckie
Teams
Reds
15 Hamish Stewart, 14 Filipo Daugunu, 13 Sefa Naivalu, 12 Samu Kerevi (captain), 11 Jack Hardy, 10 Bryce Hegarty, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Liam Wright, 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Harry Hockings, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Ruan Smith, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Alex Mafi, 17 Harry Hoopert, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Angus Blyth, 20 Fraser McReight, 21 Moses Sorovi, 22 Duncan Paia’aua, 23 Isaac Lucas.
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Michael Kumbirai, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Joshua Stander, 23 SP Marais.
