The stakes were high as the Stormers visited Perth for the last match of their Australasian tour.
The visitors reigned supreme over the Waratahs last week and were looking to consolidate their grasp on a finals berth. A win in Perth would put them in good stead for the home straight.
Meanwhile, the Force are staring down the end of matching their longest losing streak in Super Rugby. The Force also needed to repay their diehard fans, who have watched their team slump to zero from three at home this season.
The Match
There were ominous signs early on that the Stormers could run up a cricket score with the away team scoring on every visit into the Force’s half.
The two teams traded penalties early, but it was the Stormers who scored the first try in the eighth minute. A clearing kick out on the full saw the Stormers gain possession and then a 5-metre scrum. They dominated the Force eight and earned a penalty try after the Force infringed on a certain pushover (10-3).
The run of play started to go in the Force’s direction from this point. The Force dominated possession, territory and were winning the kicking battle. The scrum began to stabilise and the Force players began winning the collisions.
Dane Haylett-Petty showed some class in his kick receipt and driving attack. Frustratingly, the Force were only able to score three more points from the boot of Luke Burton in the 37th minute (10-6) despite an abundance of possession and territory.
The Stormers ran hot on attack in some tense final minutes of the half and were only narrowly held out by a committed Force defence.
The Force kicked on with the attacking play in the second half as Ian Prior came on for Alby Mathewson and provided faster service from the breakdown. The Stormers defence held strong, maintained their discipline and snuffed out raid after raid.
The Force began to show confidence in their play with wider passing, but couldn’t convert the few line breaks they made. They also lacked the clinical edge to take points from penalties or drop goals when the opportunities arose. The Stormers had scant opportunities to attack but Sila Kolisi put in a few solid runs.
After withstanding 30 minutes of attack without conceding a point, the Stormers finally got territory and possession coming into the final ten minutes. A sustained period of attack earned them an easy penalty (13-6), and caused Luke Burton to be binned for the final few minutes of the game.
The Force attacked hard from the restart and got agonisingly close to crossing the line for a chance to equalise. The Stormers held strong and, when Dane Haylett-Petty was held up over the line, Mike Fraser blew the full time whistle.
The Force will be disappointed that, once again, they failed to convert a tremendous possession and territorial advantage. Although aspects of their play were strong and they looked better on attack than in previous weeks, something has to change.
Life won’t get much easier with two games in New Zealand to follow. The Stormers won’t be happy with their performance, but won’t complain about the four points.
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The Game Changer
The eighth minute penalty try had the single biggest impact on the match. The Force were chasing the game from this point onward and just couldn’t bring themselves back into the hunt. The Stormers defence deserve an honourable mention for soaking up 30 minutes of pressure in the second half.
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The G&GR MOTM
Lots of players impressed in this one. Schalk Burger was a mammoth in defence. Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe also had a couple of good touches on attack. But my MOTM goes to Adam Coleman who was a colossus on attack and defence and outpointed Springbok Eben Etzebeth.
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Wallaby watch
Ben McCalman had a trademark solid game and maintained pressure on Wycliff Palu.
Dane Haylett-Petty is probably a year or two off, but has a bit of Israel Folau to him- strong in contact and very reliable under the high ball.
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The Details
Crowd: 10, 823
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]Western Force: 6
Tries: nil
Conversions: nil
Penalties: Burton (4′, 37′)[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Stormers: 13
Tries: Penalty try (8′)
Conversions: Catrakilis (8′)
Penalties: Catrakilis (2′), Coleman (74′) [/one_half]
Cards & citings
Burton (Yellow Card- Cynical Offside)
