Ken Borland

DHL Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said the way his pack had answered barbs about their physicality was what pleased him the most about their impressive 29-17 upset win over the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.

The Stormers’ tight five was particularly youthful with an average age of 22 years and 10 months – while their replacements averaged 21-and-a-half years – but they managed to dominate a powerhouse Bulls pack laden with Springboks, especially in the scrums, while they never gave an inch in the collisions as the big men ran at them.

“There were big question marks about our physicality, but I’m really proud of the way the players put their bodies on the line, they got stuck into the Bulls and I’m really proud of the way we defended.

“It all starts in the scrums, they were a massive focus for us, and there’s been a big improvement. I’m really pleased for our young props, Vincent Koch [on loan from the Pumas] has slotted in very well and so have Bongi Mbonambi and Wilco Louw,” Coetzee said after the game.

Despite trailing 17-5 at halftime, the Bulls managed to burrow their way back into the game and had closed the gap to 17-20 on the hour mark, but Coetzee said he was delighted with the way his team had managed to close out their first SuperRugby win at Loftus Versfeld since 2012.

“I haven’t seen a Stormers team be so clinical in the last 15 minutes, we had to turn up and really perform, especially the youngsters and the leadership. Our indiscipline early in the second half allowed the Bulls back into the game and we have to make sure we brush up on that,” Coetzee said.

Despite all the talk about a new style of play for the Bulls, it was back to the bad old days for Frans Ludeke’s team as they made numerous basic errors when in possession and struggled to find a way through or around the ferocious Stormers defence.

Ludeke admitted the performance “was not good enough” and blamed “silly penalties” for the Bulls being under pressure, a batch of them conceded at the scrum.

Captain Victor Matfield accused his team of being “out-worked” by the Stormers in the final quarter.

“Everything went so well in the pre-season, but I hope the guys see that only one thing counts, and that’s the 80 minutes on the park. You have to win the big moments,” Matfield barked.

Both Ludeke and Coetzee praised Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen for two of those big moments, when the eighthman effected critical turnovers under his own poles and replacement hooker Mbonambi also made a crucial steal against his former team in the final quarter.

Vermeulen also had praise for his tight five and the composure of his side.

“The tight five definitely put us on the front foot, but the Bulls came back and if you’re not composed and playing in the right areas, then you’re going to be back on your goal-line and conceding points. It was nice to see us execute that well,” Vermeulen said.

The DHL Stormers had their fans at Loftus Versfeld screaming with delight on Saturday night as they upset the Vodacom Bulls 29-17 for their first SuperRugby win in Pretoria since 2012.

While the small but noticeable group of Stormers supporters left Loftus thrilled by their underdogs pulling off a surprisingly convincing victory over the highly-rated Bulls, the home fans were left contemplating how, for all the talk of a new era, their team played much as they did last year. The Bulls were flat, did not make enough use of their possession, wasting a lot of it through basic errors, and their scrum was always under pressure.

In fact, it was even worse than last year because the Bulls were undefeated at home in the 2014 SuperRugby competition.

And it had all started so promisingly for the Bulls as wing Bjorn Basson came bursting through on a lovely switch, earning a fourth-minute penalty for offsides. The Bulls bravely kicked it to touch and their rolling maul steamrolled over the line, with flank Deon Stegmann getting the opening try.

And then fullback Jurgen Visser dropped a regulation kick ahead by Dillyn Leyds, which the Stormers wing picked up as he followed through, racing over the line for the visitors’ first try. From then on, the Bulls’ wheels began falling off.

Flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis kicked a penalty and then eighthman Duane Vermeulen came storming through on an angled run to score the second try, with centre Damian de Allende shaking off several defenders to make the try-scoring pass.

By now the Stormers were winning the scrum battle hands down and were defending with tremendous ferocity, while also carrying the ball with greater intensity than the home side.

Going into the break with a 5-17 deficit, the Bulls desperately needed to lift themselves in the second half and they played with greater accuracy and urgency in the third quarter.

Flyhalf Handre Pollard, having missed his first three kicks at goal in the first half, succeeded with a 42^nd-minute penalty after strong runs by eighthman Pierre Spies and lock Jacques du Plessis.

Pollard registered further penalties in the 48^th (after Basson claimed a fine take in the air), 54^thand 60^th minutes, while Catrakilis kept his perfect record intact with a 51^st-minute penalty.

But the shaky foundation at the scrum and the tremendous Stormers defence meant that the Bulls were often running up blind alleys and the visitors finished the match strongly.

De Allende, a shining light in the Stormers backline, almost scored but was forced out on the corner flag by Jan Serfontein and Pollard, but it still led to another penalty for Catrakilis (23-17).

His replacement, Kurt Coleman, slotted a penalty in the 73^rd minute as another Bulls scrum came crashing down, and then a drop goal two minutes from time, widened the wound for the Bulls into a gaping gash.

For all their talk about raising the tempo of their play, there still seemed to be too many Bulls carthorses in comparison to the livewire, all-action Stormers.

The decision to sign tighthead prop Vincent Koch on a loan deal from the Pumas looks a masterstroke as he gave the Stormers scrum a tremendous foundation, as well as being a force in the loose.

Locks Ruan Botha and Jean Kleyn also looked full of promise and there are plenty of promising signs for the Stormers for the season ahead.

Scorers

Bulls: Try – Deon Stegmann. Penalties – Handre Pollard (4).

Stormers: Tries – Dillyn Leyds, Duane Vermeulen. Conversions – Demetri Catrakilis (2). Penalties – Catrakilis (3), Kurt Coleman. Drop goal – Coleman

http://citizen.co.za/327043/bulls-vs-stormers-low/

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The Unlimited Titans pace bowlers were able to tear through the bizhub Highveld Lions top-order to set up a thrilling 12-run win on the Duckworth/Lewis Method in their Momentum One-Day Cup match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.

For a long time it looked as if it was not going to be the Titans’ day as Willowmoore Park’s terrible facilities saw a three-hour delay in play due to wet patches after just a 20-minute shower, that after the home side had posted a challenging 255 for nine in their 50 overs.

The lengthy interruption, in bright sunshine, meant the Lions’ innings was reduced to 20 overs and their target to 149. With all 10 wickets in hand – they were 10 without loss after 1.5 overs when the rain arrived – the advantage was very much with the Lions.

But the hostile, persistent bowling of JP de Villiers, Junior Dala and Ethy Mbhalati reduced the Lions to 46 for four and, were it not for the brilliance of Alviro Petersen, who struck 48 off 36 balls, the visitors would have been right out of the game.

The dismissal of Petersen, caught by De Villiers running in from long-on off a full toss from spinner Graeme van Buuren in an over that had already cost 16, was obviously a key moment, and with bowlers Matt McGillivray and Hardus Viljoen being bombarded with short-pitched bowling, they were unable to score the 44 runs required off 23 balls.

There was much to like about the approach of De Villiers (4-0-20-2), Dala (4-0-19-1) and Mbhalati (4-0-25-1) in making full use of the conditions, especially the steep bounce on offer.

The Titans reached their total thanks to a late boost given to the innings by Qaasim Adams, who took a liking to the bowling of Pumelela Matshikwe and McGillivray in the closing overs, belting 59 off 56 balls.

It was a top-class innings by the 30-year-old, who came to the crease with the Titans on a shaky 146 for five. The departure of Jacques Rudolph, for a composed, high-quality 77 off 105 balls, and Albie Morkel (2) shortly thereafter, left them on 181 for seven, but Adams found a willing ally in De Villiers, who scored a bright 26 off 18 balls, in a crucial stand of 43 off 36 deliveries.

Teenager Bjorn Fortuin took three for 47 with his left-arm spin, while McGillivray claimed three for 49 after Adams hit him for two fours and a six in the penultimate over.

An impressive performance by the Unlimited Titans pacemen saw them to a thrilling 12-run win on the Duckworth/Lewis Method over the bizhub Highveld Lions in their Momentum One-Day Cup match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.

The Titans, having been sent in to bat, posted a challenging 255 for nine in their 50 overs thanks to an inspired late blast from Qaasim Adams, but a three-hour delay caused by wet patches after a 20-minute rain shower, left the Lions with an adjusted target of 149 in 20 overs, which should have been an easy task given that they had all 10 wickets in hand when they resumed on 10 without loss after 1.5 overs.

But an aggressive approach from JP de Villiers, Ethy Mbhalati and Junior Dala, bowling just outside off stump and often getting steep bounce, blew away the Lions top-order as they crashed to 46 for four.

The Lions were grateful to Alviro Petersen for a counterpunching 48 off 36 balls otherwise they wouldn’t have had any chance of victory.

Petersen was dismissed, however, in the 15^th over, after taking 16 runs off slow bowler Graeme van Buuren’s over and then promptly hitting a full toss to De Villiers running in from long-on.

De Villiers bowled out his four overs up front, finishing with excellent figures of two for 20, and Mbhalati (4-0-25-1) and Dala (4-0-19-1) were left to handle the closing overs. They weren’t scared to bowl short and extracted tremendous bounce from the grey-coloured pitch, making it very difficult for bowlers Matt McGillivray and Hardus Viljoen (16*) to score the 48 runs they needed off the last five overs.

Grant Thomson then sealed victory for the Titans in the glorious late afternoon sunshine, dismissing McGillivray (16) and Bjorn Fortuin (0) in the final over as the Lions closed on 136 for eight.

Adams showed what a fine batsman he is as his late hitting carried the Titans to a daunting 255 for nine.

The Willowmoore Park pitch provided the bowlers with assistance – especially in terms of steep bounce – and Adams provided a crucial late boost to the Titans innings with his 59 off 56 balls.

Veteran Jacques Rudolph showed that he is still on top of his game as he made a solid 77 off 105 balls at the top of the order.

Adams came to the crease with the Titans struggling on 146 for five, which soon became 181 for seven, but he played in measured fashion to make sure he was still in when the closing overs arrived. He then took a liking to Pumelela Matshikwe and McGillivray, finishing with four fours and two sixes as the Titans scored 52 runs in the last six overs.

The Titans had been sent in to bat and there was little sign of the troubles ahead when they reached 104 for one after 23 overs.

Henry Davids had been dismissed for 18 in the 15^th over when he tried to sweep left-arm spinner Fortuin and was caught at backward square-leg, but Rudolph and Heino Kuhn then added a run-a-ball 52.

That promising partnership ended though when Kuhn swiped wrist-spinner Eddie Leie to long-off to be dismissed for 23.

Van Buuren came in and struck a couple of boundaries but was then trapped lbw on the back foot when he should have been forward, for 11, by McGillivray.

Thomson was then bowled for 10 as he tried to sweep Fortuin but missed, and the Titans had crashed to 146 for five when Mangaliso Mosehle (1) was bowled by the 20-year-old.

Rudolph soldiered on though, stroking seven fours and a six, but he was caught behind when McGillivray found the perfect length, as well as some extra bounce and nip away.

When Albie Morkel was bounced out for 2 by Viljoen, the Titans were in danger of being bowled out for less than 200, but Adams took charge and received stout assistance from De Villiers, who scored 26 off 18 balls.

There was something of a pall around the Lions camp after their dismal display against the Knights on Friday night, but they produced a better bowling display on Sunday.

McGillivray was able to make life hard for the batsmen as he bowled a super length, finishing with three for 49 with Adams carting him for two fours and a six in the penultimate over to tarnish his figures.

The young seamer had the last laugh though when he had Adams caught at long-off, Temba Bavuma taking a superb leaping catch.

Fortuin took three for 47, while Viljoen bowled well at the death to finish with two for 52, 13 runs coming off his first over courtesy of four wides, two of which went to the boundary.

http://citizen.co.za/318795/titans-thrill-crowd-beat-lions/