Vodacom Stormers end tour on high note

Rodney Blake and Drew Mitchell scored first-half tries as the Reds led 13-3 at halftime, but the Stormers’ second-half burst of 21 points put the visitors ahead for good.

Springbok No. 8 Joe van Niekerk scored the Stormers’ first try 14 minutes into the second half, and Jonghi Nokwe and Gerrie Britz added two more in the next three minutes, with Peter Grant converting all three tries.

The three-try burst began with skipper De Wet Barry finding hooker Schalk Brits, who sidestepped Peter Hynes to put van Niekerk over in the left corner.

From the kickoff, a poor pass by Mitchell to Mitchell Chapman allowed winger Nokwe to pounce and toe the ball ahead three times and win the race for an 80-meter try.

Then centre Jean de Villiers broke away and eventually found Barry with a flick pass which allowed him to put lock Britz over. Ben Tune scored a late converted try for Queensland to give the Reds a bonus point for losing by fewer than seven points.

Scorers:

Reds: Tries – Rodney Blake, Drew Mitchell, Ben Tune. Conversion – Julian Huxley. Penalty – Huxley

Vodacom Stormers: Tries – Joe Van Niekerk, Jonghi Nokwe, Gerrie Britz. Conversions – Peter Grant (3). Penalty – Naas Olivier.

Referee: Lyndon Bray (NZL).