CAPE TOWN – If ever you wanted to gauge
whether the Stormers are an ambitious team or not, you just had to evaluate their
decision-making with seconds to go against the Crusaders at Newlands on Saturday
night.
After a
heart and soul, rumble-in-the-jungle effort from the hosts against the mighty
nine-time champions, it all came down to one last penalty inside the Crusaders 22.
With the
score at 19-16 to the Crusaders, the Stormers had to decide whether they wanted
a draw by kicking to the posts, or booting it out for a five-metre lineout.
Sadly, they
chose the former.
Replacement
flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis slotted the three-pointer to end an exhilarating
night at the grand old ground, which underlined the mindset of the Cape outfit during the Robbie Fleck era…
The
Stormers’ monumental effort – despite a few shaky kicks and questionable
tactics – deserved them going to touch with the late penalty.
There were
screams from the touchline and captain Siya Kolisi – who had scored a wonderful
try himself – on what to do, and ultimately, Du Plessis was asked to belt the
ball through the uprights.
Of course
Fleck and his team would’ve grabbed a 19-19 draw before kickoff, but on the
evidence of their performance, the Stormers should’ve won the game.
It was the
skipper who set the tone as early as the sixth minute. From a clean lineout
ball, Josh Stander found a flying Kolisi, who burst through the first line of
defence, and then left Richie Mo’unga for dead in a piece of footwork
reminiscent of the one where he beat Elton Jantjies in the past.
The noisy
‘Cape Crusaders’ in the Danie Craven Stand standing room were silenced, and the
early try provided the necessary momentum for the Stormers pack to put their
foot down.
Led by a
marauding Kolisi, a busy Pieter-Steph du Toit and a robust Eben Etzebeth, the
Capetonians eventually found the favour of referee Nic Berry’s whistle, as the Australian made a
few iffy calls for the visitors initially.
The Stormers
may be ruing an early decision to kick to touch instead of taking the three
points, although they got another opportunity before the end of the first
quarter, which Stander slotted for a 10-0 lead.
But the
Crusaders, even on the back foot, know how to sneak their way into a game, and
it was Matt Todd who forced his way over from a driving maul in the 28th
minute.
The
Stormers should’ve had more points on the board for their hard work, and it
came back to hurt them as the Crusaders scored a sensational try to take the
lead before halftime.
Braydon Ennor of the Crusaders makes a break on his way to scoring a try against the Stormers. Photo: Nic Bothma/EPA
Flyhalf
magician Mo’unga pulled off an audacious chip in the tackle inside the Stormers
22, and the ball flew straight into the hands of outstanding fullback David
Havili, who dived in under the posts.
With a
12-10 deficit, the Stormers needed to score first after halftime, but it was
not to be.
A midfield
break by the visitors, with an injured Damian de Allende unable to close down
the space, led to Brayden Ennor racing in on the left, and suddenly it was
19-10 to the Crusaders.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/STOvCRU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STOvCRU #iamastormer
— DHL STORMERS (@THESTORMERS)
Stander
missed a crucial penalty soon after that, and even though he kicked one over six
minutes later, the Crusaders were still 19-13 up.
Replacement
pivot Du Plessis slotted another three-pointer to set up a thrilling finish,
but the Stormers hung in.
The
Crusaders, though, could’ve wrapped things up with five minutes left when Sevu
Reece chipped ahead and scored, but the TMO ruled that the pass to him was
forward – although the decision was debatable.
It allowed
the Stormers one last charge, and after Damian Willemse just couldn’t collect
the ball from a classy Du Plessis chip-ahead, it came down to the final kick
for a draw.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/THESTORMERS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@THESTORMERSclinch vital points at the end to get the 19-19 draw against the visiting @crusadersrugby. #SuperRugby #STOvCRU pic.twitter.com/8hNxvmvL5v
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby)
Points-Scorers
Stormers 19 – Try: Siya Kolisi. Conversion: Josh Stander (1). Penalties: Stander (2), Jean-Luc du Plessis (2).
Crusaders 19 – Tries: Matt Todd, David Havili, Braydon Ennor. Conversions: Richie Mo’unga (2).
@ashfakmohamed