DHL Stormers pull away from Lions
The DHL Stormers pulled away from the Emirates Lions in the second half to record a 57-40 victory in their pre-season friendly at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The teams had gone into the half-time break deadlocked at 21-21 after scoring three tries each in the first half, but the home side left the Johannesburg side behind as they outscored them by six tries to three in the second half.
The DHL Stormers got on the front foot early on and drove deep into Emirates Lions territory while showing a willingness to send the ball through the hands.
However the visitors would strike first against the run of play as an interception from Howard Mnisi saw right wing Madosh Tambwe dot down.
They added to that soon afterwards when hooker Malcolm Marx barged his way over in the corner from a maul following a break from Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
The DHL Stormers hit back with a try of their own when an attack up the left wing followed by some slick offloading saw lock Chris van Zyl burst through for a great team try.
The Emirates Lions struck back when the ball was sent wide to Tambwe from a quick line-out, giving him an easy run-in to make it 21-7 to the visitors after the opening half-hour.
The DHL Stormers regrouped well under pressure and scored two quick tries tries just before the the half-time break to draw level at 21-21.
First a superb offload from SP Marais saw Dan du Plessis surge over, before some more great interplay down the left saw Siya Kolisi cross for the third try which levelled the scores.
The DHL Stormers hit the lead for the first time in the match early in the second half when Nizaam Carr forced his way over from close range following a superb kick-chase from Cheslin Kolbe into the corner.
The DHL Stormers were reduced to 14 men when Carr was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, but that did not hold them back much as they scored again through hooker Bongi Mbonambi who crashed over from a maul after a counter-attack.
The Springbok hooker bashed over in similar fashion soon afterwards to give the DHL Stormers a commanding 40-21 advantage with 20 minutes left.
The Emirates Lions managed a maul try of their own, and followed that up with a five-pointer from Ruan Ackermann to cut the DHL Stormers’ lead to 40-33.
The DHL Stormers responded through Cobus Wiese who powered his way over to cap a period of pressure, but they were not done there as Sikhumbuzo Notshe jumped on a loose ball to score the eighth try.
There was still enough time for both sides to score again as first Emirates Lions prop Corne Fourie went over before the game was ended by a try from Jano Vermaak – the DHL Stormers’ ninth of the afternoon.
The scorers:
For DHL Stormers:
Tries: Van Zyl, D Du Plessis, Kolisi, Carr, Mbonambi 2, Wiese, Notshe, Vermaak
Cons: Du Preez 3, JL du Plessis 3
For Emirates Lions:
Tries: Tambwe 2, Marx, Van der Merwe, Ackermann, Fourie
Cons: Jantjies 3, Coetzee 2
DHL Stormers: 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 JD Shickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Eduard Zandberg, 21 Jaco Coetzee, 22 Juarno Augustus, 23 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 24 Jano Vermaak, 25 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 26 Leolin Zas, 27 Dan Kriel, 28 EW Viljoen, 29 Damian Willemse, 30 Frans van Wyk.
Emirates Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Cyle Brink, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Franco Mostert, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Akker vd Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Andries Ferreira, 20 Lourens Erasmus, 21 Robert Kruger, 22 Jaco Kriel, 23 Victor Sekekete, 24 Dillon Smit, 25 Andries Coetzee, 26 Harold Vorster, 27 Antony Volmink, 28 Jacques Nel, 29 Sylvian Mahuza.
