The DHL Stormers had a great start to the match against the Dragons RFC and led 34-12 at the halftime break. The DHL Stormers then took their foot off the pedal allowing the Dragons 14 unanswered points. The DHL Stormers hung on during the last 6 minutes to win 34-26.
The DHL Stormers were dominant from the word go as they were willing to attack from anywhere. Two lineout maul tries by their forwards gave them an early 14-00 try after 20 minutes of play.
A consolation try late in the second quarter made the score look a bit respectable, however, the DHL Stormers were in complete control for most of the first half. The pace of the game slowed down a lot and although Dragons RFC got their hands on some "quality" ball the DHL Stormers should win with ease.
The Dragons RFC came out after the halftime break looking a lot better and scored an early try. However, a "relaxed" DHL Stormers were happy to absorb the pressure from the Dragons RFC and convert penalties whenever in reach of Manie Libbok. The DHL Stormers led 34-12 with 20 minutes left to play.
The Dragons RFC were in complete control during the fourth quarter and scored two unanswered tries in the fourth quarter to trail 26-34 with four minutes to go. Unfortunately, the visitors ran out of time and the DHL Stormers won 34-29
Scorers:
DHL Stormers: Tries: Junior Pokomela, Joseph Dweba, Ruan Nel, Manie Libbok. Conversions: Manie Libbok (3), Clayton Blommetjies. Penalties: Manie Libbok (2).
Dragons RFC: Tries: Jordan Williams, Aki Seiuli, JJ Hanrahan, Josh Reynolds. Conversions: JJ Hanrahan (3).
As it happened:
08:58 Junior Pokemela break through the middle of a lineout-maul to score DHL Stormers' first try of the match. (07-00)
15:55 Joseph Dweba score the DHL Stormers' second try from the back of a 5m lineout maul. (14-00)
21:27 A team try was scored by Ruan Nel on his return. Great interplay and handling by the hosts' players resulted in their third try. (21-00)
35:29 Manie Libbok cut through the defence like a hot knife through butter to score a seemingly easy 50m bonus point try for DHL Stormers try. (28-00)
40:23 The Dragons' Jordan Williams intercepts a ball in his own half to score an opportunistic try. (28-07)
46:36 Aki Seiuli scored the Dragons RFC's second try from the back of a 5m lineout-maul. (28-12)
50:22 Manie Libbok converted a penalty for the DHL Stormers. (31-12)
56:29 Sio Tomkinson (Dragons RFC) was shown a yellow card.
57:33 Manie Libbok converted a second penalty for the DHL Stormers. (34-12)
70:22 JJ Hanrahan scored the Dragons' 3rd try after several players handled the ball on the way to the try. (34-19)
74:07Josh Reynolds broke away from a lineout-maul to score the Dragons RFC's fourth and bonus-point try. (34-26)
Teams:
DHL Stormers: 15. Clayton Blommetjies, 14. Tristan Leyds, 13. Ruhan Nel, 12. Dan du Plessis, 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Manie Libbok, 9. Herschel Jantjies, 8. Hacjivah Dayimani, 7. Willie Engelbrecht, 6. Junior Pokemela, 5. Marvin Orie, 4. Salmaan Moerat (c), 3. Neethling Fouche, 2. Joseph Dweba, 1. Kwenzo Blose. Replacements: 16. JJ Kotze, 17. Brok Harris, 18. Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19. Connor Evans, 20. Deon Fourie, 21. Paul de Wet, 22. Kade Wolhuter, 23. Mnombo Zwelendaba.
Dragons RFC: 15. Angus O’Brien, 14. Sio Tomkinson, 13. Steff Hughes, 12. Max Clark, 11. Jordan Williams, 10. JJ Hanrahan, 9. Rhodri Williams, 8. Ross Moriarty (c), 7. Aaron Wainwright, 6. Huw Taylor, 5. Sean Lonsdale, 4. Matthew Screech, 3. Lloyd Fairbrother, 2. Bradley Roberts, 1. Aki Seiuli. Replacements: 16. James Benjamin, 17. Josh Reynolds, 18. Chris Coleman, 19. Harri Keddie, 20. Ben Fry, 21. Lewis Jones, 22. Will Reed, 23. Aneurin Owen.
