Stormers keep unbeaten Super Rugby record alive
[caption id="attachment_196706" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Ross Geldenhuys of Southern Kings tackles Jozua Malherbe of DHL Stormers during the Super Rugby match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday
Picture: Richard Huggard / Gallo Images[/caption]
Showing electrifying pace on attack the Stormers kept their unbeaten Super Rugby record alive when they outgunned the Southern Kings 41-10 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium today.
After wins over the Bulls and Jaguares in their opening games, the Stormers scored six sparkling tries to show they will be among the top teams in Super Rugby this season.
The Stormers’ win means the Kings have yet to beat South African opposition in Super Rugby.
The Kings took the lead after five minutes when flyhalf Lionel Cronje nailed a penalty after a bright start by the home side in front of 15 000 fans.
It was the Stormers who registered the first five-pointer when wing Dillyn Leyds sprinted away from the Kings defence after 15 minutes.
Tempers boiled over after 20 minutes when Stormers loose forward Rynhardt Elstadt and Ruan Lerm of the Kings were involved in the scuffle.
The partisan home crowd booed Japanese referee Shuhei Kubo when he only awarded the Kings a penalty. They had expected Elstadt to be shown a red or at least a yellow card.
The Kings had no answer to the Stormers back division when they had ball in hand and Bjorn Basson and Elstadt scored late first half tries to give the visitors a healthy 17-3 halftime lead.
The Stormers carved the Kings defence apart when they attacked, and the Kings defence was unable to stem the onslaught.
Just four minutes after the restart the Kings defence again buckled under pressure and Robert du Preez was over for his team’s fourth try.
The Kings scored their first try after 56 minutes when wing Makazole Mapimpi gathered a perfect cross-field kick from Cronje to power his way over the tryline.
Cronje converted from the touchline, which reduced the Stormers’ lead to 24-10.
After today’s setback, the Kings will be planning to get back on the winning track when they travel to Durban play the Sharks next Saturday.
The scorers:
Southern Kings 10: Tries: Makazole Mapimpi. Conversion: Lionel Cronje. Penalty: Lionel Cronje.
Stormers 41: Tries: Dillyn Leyds, Bjorn Basson, Rynhardt Elstadt, Robert du Preez, Justin Phillips, EW Viljoen. Conversions: Robert du Preez (2). Kurt Coleman (2). Penalty: Robert du Preez.
