DHL Stormers Victorious In Brutal North-South Derby In Pretoria

 

The DHL Stormers had to dig deep but ultimately they showed enough composure to beat the Vodacom Bulls by 23-19 (half-time 13-12) in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship humdinger in front of 41,205 spectators at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The attendance was the biggest for a Vodacom URC game in South Africa, and they were treated to a master class from the visitors on how to absorb pressure with brilliant defence, and then shift gear when the opportunity presented itself in a magnificent advertisement for the depth in South African derby.

With their pack setting the tone, the first quarter belonged to the hosts, who enjoyed three-quarters of the possession with the same amount of territorial advantage, while Chris Smith's three penalty goals to a solitary effort by Manie Libbok saw the men in blue lead by 09-03.

The second half started with a typical late afternoon Highveld downpour and more of the same from the DHL Stormers, who managed to keep the Vodacom Bulls pinned in their own half before scoring the second try in the 52nd minute when Junior Pokomela crashed over after some helter-skelter stuff from both sides to stretch the Capetonians' lead to 20-12.

And tense it was, with the DHL Stormers winning two crucial turn-overs inside their own 22 late in the match to cruelly deny the Vodacom Bulls in front of a packed house, and stretch their winning streak over the men from Pretoria to five games in the Vodacom URC.

Scorers:

Vodacom Bulls: Try: Sibusiso Nkosi. Conversion: Chris Smith. Penalties: Chris Smith (4)
DHL Stormers: Tries: Marcel Theunissen, Junior Pokemela. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2). Penalties: Manie Libbok (2). Dropgoal: Manie Libbok.

As it happened:

06:19 Chris Smith converted a penalty for the Vodacom Bulls. (03-00)
11:24 Chris Smith converted a second penalty for the Vodacom Bulls. (06-00)
13:50 Manie Libbok converted a penalty for the DHL Stormers. (06-03)
15:25 Chris Smith converted a third penalty for the Vodacom Bulls. (09-03)
24:12 Chris Smith converted a fourth penalty for the Vodacom Bulls. (12-03)
27:18 Marcel Theunissen scored in the corner after the speed of handling of the visitors proved too much for the Vodacom Bulls. (12-10)
38:16 Manie Libbok converted a penalty for DHL Stormers to take the lead for the first time of the match. (12-13)
51:52 Junior Pokemela scored the DHL Stormers' second try. (12-20)
64:47 Sibusiso Nkosi scored the Vodacom Bulls' first try of the match. (19-20)
72:05 Manie Libboks slots a dropgoal for the DHL Stomers. (19-23)

Teams:

Vodacom Bulls: 15 David Kriel, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Sibusiso Nkosi, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Zak Burger, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Jacques Du Plessis, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrick Wessels, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Ruan Vermaak, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Lionel Mapoe.

DHL Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Brok Harris. Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.