The Stormers overcame a stuttering first-half display to rack up their biggest total in Super Rugby as they scored seven tries to beat the Rebels 57-31 in Melbourne on Saturday.
Replacement hooker Scarra Ntubeni scored the bonus-point try from a five-metre maul after the hooter to put the cherry on top of a remarkable result for coach Robbie Fleck and his team.
The Stormers beat their previous highest points tally of 56 that they scored against the Lions at Newlands in 2009.
Flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis scored 27 points with a try, five conversions and four penalties to end one behind Braam van Straaten’s individual points-scoring record in a single match for the Stormers.
It was a final-quarter surge from the Cape side that finally ended the Rebels’ challenge after the home team went down to 14 men when flank Scott Fuglistaller was yellow-carded by referee Angus Gardner for collapsing a maul.
It was the turning point in the match as the scoreboard was at 31-31 with 18 minutes left, as Stormers captain Schalk Burger backed his dominant scrum by calling for the set-piece instead of taking the three points. The gamble paid off when Burger picked up at the back of the scrum and found Nic Groom on his inside for the scrumhalf to score.
It put the Stormers 36-31 ahead with 14 minutes left, and they didn’t concede points again.
But it was the Rebels who dominated territory and possession in the opening quarter, with their high-tempo passing game catching the Stormers off-guard. While the Cape side made their tackles, they were too passive in defence and gave the Rebels too much momentum.
The Cape side were lethargic in the opening exchanges, so it was no surprise when Rebels outside centre Sefanaia Naivalu romped home on the outside in the ninth minute after a sniping break by left wing Tom English, who beat Damian de Allende up the middle after the Springbok centre rushed up out of line.
And while Du Plessis slotted two penalties, it was the more enterprising Rebels who struck again in the 17th minute when they set up a maul in broken play, and scrumhalf Ben Meehan ripped the ball away and darted down the blindside to score a well-taken try.
With the Rebels 14-6 ahead, it stung the hesitant Stormers into action, with flyhalf Du Plessis taking matters into his own hands as he chipped into space inside the Rebels 22. The kick was chased by his cousin and outside centre Daniel du Plessis, who put enough pressure on the Rebels defender to knock on, and the ball was picked up by Jean-Luc, who ran through the gap to score.
The Stormers pack then started to exert their dominance at scrum-time, with the front-row of Oli Kebble, Bongi Mbonambi and Vincent Koch overwhelming the Rebels as they shoved the home side off their own ball on at least three occasions, and also won a few penalties.
Springbok star Eben Etzebeth was also outstanding in the lineouts on the Stormers’ own throw, while he pinched quite a few Rebels put-ins as well.
But the backs struggled to find their rhythm on attack despite getting a stream of front-foot ball, with many of the moves breaking down when De Allende took contact instead of looking for a teammate with a pass or offload in the tackle.
However, Fleck’s outfit did get it right six minutes before halftime, when they put together a number of phases and tighthead prop Vincent Koch eventually barged his way over.
The Rebels never gave up, though, and always looked like the more dangerous side with ball-in-hand. They hit back after halftime when wing Jonah Placid slid in at the corner and flyhalf Jack Debreczeni kicked the touchline conversion over to put the home team back into the lead at 24-23.
Even when Etzebeth stole yet another Rebels lineout to dot down and take the Stormers forward at 31-24, the Rebels didn’t roll over and Debreczeni levelled the scores with a try and conversion.
But then the Capetonians began their late onslaught, with the bench making a big impact, and following Groom’s five-pointer, De Allende, Leolin Zas and Ntubeni added the finishing touches.
“It’s never easy travelling quite far from Cape Town. We got here on Wednesday, and sometimes you get these weeks right and other times you don’t,” a beaming Burger said in the post-match TV interview.
“A big focus was on accuracy, and when we were accurate, we were able to put the Rebels under pressure. They’re a difficult side to play against and they attacked very well, and it showed in them scoring 30-odd points.”
The Stormers consolidated their lead in Africa Conference 1 as they moved to 41 points, nine ahead of the Bulls, who play their game in hand against the Jaguares on Saturday night.
POINTS-SCORERS
Rebels – Tries: Sefanaia Naivalu, Ben Meehan, Jonah Placid, Jack Debreczeni. Conversions: Debreczeni (4). Penalty: Debreczeni (1).
Stormers – Tries: Jean-Luc du Plessis, Vincent Koch, Eben Etzebeth, Nic Groom, Damian de Allende, Leolin Zas, Scarra Ntubeni. Conversions: Du Plessis (5). Penalties: Du Plessis (4).
@IndyCapeSport – Independent Media