Stormers winger Bryan Habana scored a late try and flyhalf Peter Grant kicked 18 points to secure a 23-13 win over the Bulls on Saturday in an all-South African Super rugby game.
It was the Stormers’ fourth win in a row and leaves them as the only unbeaten team in the southern hemisphere provincial competition.
Grant, who kicked all 39 of his team’s points in their most recent wins over the Cheetahs and Highlanders, continued his rich vein of form with six penalties in what was a repeat of last year’s Super 14 final.
Photo: Reuters
In a rain-affected match, the visitors translated their early ascendancy at scrum time into three goals by Grant to give them a 9-0 lead after 21 minutes.
The Bulls, whose 20-match home winning streak was ended by the Otago Highlanders two weeks ago, were heavily penalized at the breakdown and had to rely on the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn to get them on the board on the half-hour.
Winger Bjorn Basson then got the home side back in contention when he was freed down the left-hand touchline from a full backline move, before chipping over the scrambling defense.
Covering Stormers winger Habana slipped in the in-goal area and Basson was on hand to dot down for Steyn to convert.
However, it was Grant who extended the Stormers’ lead to eight points with his fifth and sixth penalties in the 47th and 53rd minutes as the Bulls continued to infringe on the ground.
Steyn kept his stuttering side in the hunt with a second penalty three minutes later, which sparked a raft of substitutions from both sides.
However, it was Springbok winger Habana who provided the match-winning moment, making amends for his earlier mistake by beating Basson to a chip-ahead in the 70th minute to give his team their first win in Pretoria in eight years.
FORCE V LIONS
REUTERS, JOHANNESBURG
James O’Conner scored 15 points to lead the Western Force to a 27-15 win over the Gauteng Lions in their Super rugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Flyhalf O’Conner succeeded with five penalties as the Australians secured their first win of the season.
O’Conner ensured the visitors went to the break holding a 14-9 lead, thanks to a long-range penalty after the halftime hooter had sounded.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Force were reduced to 14 men when O’Conner received a yellow card for not rolling away at a ruck.
Elton Jantjies nailed his fourth three-pointer from the resulting penalty, and five minutes later the home side took the lead for the first and only time in the match when he popped over a close-range drop-goal.
The Force struck back immediately after fullback Cameron Shepherd gathered his own kick before feeding wing Alfie Mafi, who galloped over untouched for a converted try.
Trailing 21-15 the Lions began to lose their discipline and O’Conner punished them with two penalties to kill the match off.
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