The Stormers looked like they were trying their best to throw away a win against the 14-men of the Lions in Cape Town on Saturday, but a late try sealed a needed 29-10 victory in the DHL Stadium.
After scoring their bonus-point try in the 49th minute and building up a 22-5 lead, it looked like the game was dead and buried with the home side well on their way to a first United Rugby Championship (URC) win in three games.
But, the visitors had other plans and despite being down a player after a dangerous cleanout red card to lock Ruben Schoeman, they fought until the very end to keep the Cape side’s defence honest.
For most of the 80 minutes, the Stormers defended like Trojans, but they also had plenty of lapses in concentration, coupled with missed tackles that allowed the Lions to stay on the front foot.
It took a 76th minute-try by reserve tighthead prop Neethling Fouche to eventually seal the game for the Cape side after some good buildup play by fullback Warrick Gelant and outside centre Ruhan Nel.
Before that, though, some massive defence kept the Lions from crossing their try line to possibly force a late nailbiter in the final 10 minutes. The visitors caught the Stormers napping a couple of times at the lineout in the final 30 minutes and that would’ve been one concern for head coach John Dobson.
Another would've been a lack of concentration and focus in his team.
They should’ve sealed the clash in the first half already, but going into the break at 15-0 against 14 players was simply not good enough. They dropped balls and made uncharacteristic handling errors. Some lapses in concentration also brought penalties against them when they had the Lions under the pump.
Inside centre Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was forced off in the first half already and that threw a spanner in the plans of the Cape side. He looked good on the attack alongside flyhalf Manie Libbok and Gelant and they were the danger men in that first half. Captain Deon Fourie also put in a massive shift and was outstanding in his return after eight months on the sidelines. He poached the very first ball for the Stormers when the Lions were on the attack.
Thanks to a functioning rolling maul, hooker Joseph Dweba scored two tries, while a third was cancelled because of obstruction. The bonus point try of Leolin Zas in the second half was also a beauty with Libbok and Gelant combining on the attack and the latter putting Zas in space with an inside pass to crash over the line.
Libbok was excellent again with his general play and marshalled the attack for his side. His crossfield kicking was sublime and created the try of winger Suleiman Harzenberg, but he will have to find a cure for his place-kicking woes. He missed three kicks at goal which would’ve meant six points for a larger win-margin.
The solo try of Lions winger Edwill van der Merwe in the second half was their top moment, and he showed his skill and pace to put a kick in behind the defence, he regathered ahead of Libbok to dive over spectacularly.
Points scorers
Stormers 29 (15): Tries: Joseph Dweba (2), Suleiman Harzenberg, Leolin Zas, Neethling Fouche. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2)
Lions 10 (0): Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Franco Marais