Ruthless Brumbies brush Stormers aside in Cape Town
Last Updated: 22/06/15 3:52pm
The Brumbies have booked a Super Rugby semi-final place with a 39-19 win over the Stormers in Cape Town.
A first half hat-trick from Joe Tomane as well as efforts from Scott Sio, Ita Vaea and Jesse Mogg gave the Burmbies a comfortable win as they qualify for a semi-final against the Hurricanes in New Zealand.
It was a case of set-piece dominance from the Australians and patient defence while the Stormers will rue missed opportunities that cost them possession as well as points.
The Stormers lineout in particular was an area of concern, as the home side suffered the loss of Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Burger ahead of the game, while Nizaam Carr was substituted early in the match after suffering a knock.
Though it’s unlikely that even with their first-choice players the Stormers would have managed to stop their ruthless visitors.
The Brumbies flew out to set the tempo of the game and had crossed the whitewash with less than five minutes on the clock. A charge down on a Nic Groom kick resulted in pressure and an attacking lineout for the Brumbies who spread the ball left. Nic White dabbed a deft kick through which sat up perfectly for Tomane who dived over to open the scoring.
The second try came from a precise kick from Christian Lealiifano which was securely taken by Dillyn Leyds, but the chasing Brumbies tackled and turned the winger over. With the ball recycled and spun out quickly, the Stormers were unable to scramble in time to stop Tomane from scoring his second in the corner.
Tomane's third try came in the 25th minute. No 8 Ita Vaea fed Tomane off the base of the scrum and after handing off Leyds, the winger ran around the remainder of the defence to give his side the perfect start to the play-off.
Catrakilis was able to claw six points back for the Stormers from the kicking tee, but with no time remaining in the first half the Stormers had a lineout to negotiate and Mbongeni Mbonami failed to find his jumper once again. The Brumbies claimed possession and kept the ball in the forwards, with prop Scott Sio sliding over near the poles to further complicate matters for the home side.
With a 24-6 half-time deficit it was absolutely necessary for the Stormers to score first, and they did just that through an intercept try from Cheslin Kolbe. A further two penalties from Catrakilis and one from Lealiifano meant the score was slightly closer at 27-19, but in the 63rd minute the Brumbies closed the game out.
A turnover in the Stormers half saw the visitors peppering the Stormers line with forward bursts, but once the ball was given width it made it into the hands of Vaea who scored despite attention from two defenders.
The Stormers were given one last lifeline when Henry Speight was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle and Scott Fardy a yellow for cynical play, but even with a two-man advantage for the last six minutes they were unable to fight back, and in fact it was the Brumbies who had the final say with a Jesse Mogg try to seal the win in Cape Town.
The Brumbies will now fly to New Zealand to take on the impressive Hurricanes, while the other semi-final sees the defending champions the Waratahs taking on the Highlanders.