Saturday 9 May 2015 19:02, UK
The Stormers came from behind to defeat the Brumbies 25-24 at Newlands and leap into the Super Rugby play-off places.
The Brumbies out-scored the Stormers two tries to one, thanks to a first-half effort from Joe Tomane and a late try from David Pocock that almost won his side the game, but the dominant Stormers scrum and the boot of Demetri Catrakilis kept Stormers within touching distance before a Schalk Burger try sealed a home win for the South African franchise.
The win takes the Stormers to second place in the standings, while the Brumbies slip to third. It was a heated affair in Cape Town, with the referee in continuous conversation with the two captains, both of whom were often in the thick of the exchanges.
Brumbies were first to take control of the match, with Christian Lealiifano and Demetri Catrakilis exchanging penalties in the opening minutes. In the 14th minute Stormers were on the attack before Damian de Allende tried to put a grubber through that fell directly to Joe Tomane, who collected and beat the scrambling defence to give his side a 13-3 lead.
The two kickers continued to trouble the scorekeepers with shots at goal as Catrakilis slotted the final kick of the first half to make it 16-9 to the Brumbies at the break.
The Stormers came back from the half with renewed endeavour, and when the Brumbies scrum began to buckle under the pressure from the hosts, referee Stuart Berry dipped into his pocket for a yellow card to Jordan Smiler.
As the second period wore on, the boot of Catrakilis and the strength of the Springbok-laden Stormers pack began to tell, and as the game ticked into the final quarter the Brumbies were holding onto a slender one-point lead.
On the back of a series of scrums Stormers were able to work their way into the middle of the pitch where influential loose forward Schalk Burger crashed over to give his side the lead for the first time in the game with 18 minutes remaining.
Lealiifano reduced the lead to three points with a penalty before Catrakilis eradicated his effort with a long-range drop goal.
With nine minutes remaining a poor clearance kick gave the Brumbies an attacking lineout, from which David Pocock crossed for the visitors. It left Lealiifano with a fairly regulation kick, but the Wallaby back missed the attempt, and the Stormers were able to hold out for the remainder of the game to take a vital win in Newlands.
