Sharks get the better of Stormers; Planet Rugby

The Sharks were able to overcome the Stormers 22-10 in a hard-fought South African Super Rugby derby in Durban on Saturday.

The Stormers tried their free flowing, progressing style of play but it was stifled by a strong Sharks defensive line. Both sides conceded several turnovers although the Sharks eventually got the rub of the green and outscored the visitors by two tries to one.

Tries from Johan Deysel and Stephan Lewies along with a penalty and a conversion from Garth April meant the home side held a 15-0 lead at the interval.

It was a quiet first half as both teams battled for supremacy without making much headway. The contest was a physical one and both sides put in big hits  but because of wet conditions it turned out to be a scrappy affair.

The Sharks held the upperhand in the opening exchanges and took a 3-0 lead when April slotted a penalty in the seventh minute after Oli Kebble was penalised for illegal scrummaging.

The home side continued to dominate and extended their lead three minutes later when Johan Deysel gathered a pass from Cobus Reinach before crossing for the opening try from close quarters.

The next 25 minutes was an attritional affair as both sides struggled to gain the ascendancy but this period was characterised by several handling errors from both sides.

The Sharks eventually extended their lead in the 37th minute when Stephan Lewies barged over from close quarters after Reinach did well in the build-up by playing quickly when the Sharks were awarded a penalty on the edge of the Stormers’ 22.

April added the extras which meant the Sharks had their tails up with a 15-point lead at half-time.

The Stormers were fastest out of the blocks after the restart and opened their account via an SP Marais penalty in the 46th minute. The visitors continued to dominate and they were rewarded with a try 10 minutes later scored in a similar fashion to Lewies’ earlier effort.

Jano Vermaak took a tap penalty inside the Sharks’ 22 and after he was stopped just short the tryline, Marais gathered before diving over the whitewash.

Marais dusted himself off and added the extras and with the score at 15-10 to the Sharks, the visitors were back in this game.

Five minutes later, the Sharks increased their lead and they did it in style thanks to an impressive Sbu Nkosi try.

From a lineout just outside the Stormers’ 22, the flyer ran onto a flat pass from Reinach before shrugging off a tackle from Ramone Samuels. He still had work to do but outpaced the cover defence before diving over under the posts.

The visitors tried gallantly to fight back in the final quarter but a resilient defensive effort from the Sharks kept them at bay and secured the hosts the victory.

The scorers:

For Sharks:
Tries: Deysel, Lewies, Nkosi
Cons: April 2
Pen: April

For Stormers:
Try: Marais
Con: Marais
Pen: Matrais

Sharks: 15 Lwazi Mvovo, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Garth April, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Philip van der Walt (c), 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Ruan Botha, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Beast Mtawarira, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Odwa Ndungane

Stormers: 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Kurt Coleman, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Juan de Jongh, 23 Seabelo Senatla

Referee: Marius ven der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs, Archie Sehlako
TMO: Marius Jonker

 Interesting that the fans of these two teams haven't commented on this result. I will watch the game later.

 ...JW no doubt in good time we will get all the excuses under the sun for the Stormers loss...such a long list though it may take a while to compile so patience is needed...

 Ha ha Brycy, I'm sure you are right. I expect Mozart will respond to the first line of this article.
"The Stormers tried their free flowing, progressing style of play but it was stifled by a strong Sharks defensive line."

Not that I'm trying to stir things up

 ...JW i never saw the game.......was PST suffering PTSD or something...and why did the Springbok wonderboys De allande and Etzabeth not use their super powers ?

 A mystery for sure Brycy but as you said Beeno will present his "reasons"/excuses shortly I'm sure. Perhaps Rooi can shed some light on this in the meantime.

Bunnies!
Well done to the Sharks on smashing their weak little BUNNIES yet again!
LMAO!

 Cingrats Sharks.

 
The Stormers were hammered ... again.

I once again make the call for their expulsion along with the Bulls from SR.

They're just not up to it any longer.

Well played Sharks.

 Gee clean cut, you wont have any SA teams left at this rate.

 
Leaking an average of 7 trys a match says it all ... wouldn't y ou agree?

  I see wee rooitwitterbug and wee CC in spasm of delight over the Stormers loss.As for the esteemed Beeno I am very pleased with the fight shown by our guys. The Stormers dominated the second half and were unlucky not to have finished off the Sharks. The score was of course no reflection of the rugby paid.Eben as all said, but some ignorant oaks here cant admit, was monumental showing why he is the best lock in world rugby.It was a hard fought game and a loss with honour. That said Fleck has to realize this team doesn't have the personnel  to compete for the title. He can reconfigure the loose trio on Elstadt's return. Obviously Cheslin has to go to scrumhalf but that takes a little too much brain power to figure out!When all is said and done it was a good match the Stormers were unfortunate to lose:

Revealingly, very little separated the sides in

 terms of the attacking or defensive statistics

 during the first period, and yet the Sharks 

were fully deserving of the commanding 15-0 

lead that they held at the interval.

There’s no doubt Stormers coach Robbie Fleck

 would have called for far greater composure 

and accuracy from his charges, and they

 certainly came out with far better intent 

after the restart, with SP Marais slotting a

 44th-minute penalty to finally open the 

visitors’ account.

The Stormers continued to pile on the 

pressure as they displayed much-improved

 patience with ball in hand, and after yet another determined build-up, Marais popped up to score, before slotting the conversion to suddenly reduce the deficit to only five.

It appeared as if it might spark a Stormers 

comeback, but the result swung firmly in favour

 of the hosts when young winger S’bu Nkosi 

produced a moment of magic as he darted 40m to score a stunning solo set play try just after the hour mark.

The contest was quite aptly summed up when

 one final Stormers attack was thwarted by the 

outstanding Sharks defence, with the home side

 ultimately celebrating an extremely impressive

 win.

Sharks defended well but luck was also with 

them.

Well the self-esteemed Beeno pulls out his old chestnut: "the scoreboard doesn't count" excuse. An explanation that shows no imagination.

Well the self-esteemed Beeno pulls out his old chestnut: "the scoreboard doesn't count" excuse. An explanation that shows no imagination.

 Beeno
The Sharks outplayed the Stormers comprehensively.
Du Preez really has that team on the up and up. Their loosies are moving the ball well and all the forwards look hungry. Eben was totally average yesterday with just small and limited glimpses of something more. Maybe I'm not seeing the big picture but aside from a few falls over the advantage line nothing he did stood out.
Cheslin is a hindrance to the Stormers. I see De Jongh is back...oh gosh! De Allende looked like his donkey self yet again and God only knows how he made the Bok squad ahead of Voster. 
The Stormers looked promising at the start of the season and I really wanted them to do well but they have some serious passengers in that team. Still they did beat two Kiwi teams this year. Does Fleck deserve another season in charge?

 Plum the sharks did not comprehensively. You sound like ou rooitwitterbug the mincer!!! Up your game Plump! You can be sure you are on the wrong tack when JW the despicable is agreeing with you!
It was a hard fought game and the Stormers definitely were on y top for much of the second half but failed to put points on the board.As for selections by bozo Coetzee I said I do not have the words to express my disgust.I am very pleased that I can follow the tennis!

 Lol Beeno
You know I'm just saying what I saw. Currently, and I know you hate to but still agree, what's happening at the Sharks is much more exciting than anything going on at the Stormers. Du Preez is bringing a lot of good out of the Natal boys. When that final pass begins to land more regularly they're gonna be a force.

 Yes the stormers seem to have hit a barrier, perhaps in part because of their fickle fans some of who just spend their time hitting small yellow balls. These folks aren't really rugby fans just fair-weather fans (excuse the pun).

Yellow hahaha......thus Spake publiclinksman.

 Err, Mozart I was referring to tennis but if this applies to some golf players fine with me.

Well try to be clearer JW.....'small balls' usually applies to golf balls and AB fans.

 Ha ha Mozart good side step but of course with a red face

If you say so.....it's 'er' by the way 'err' means to make a mistake, something with which you are familiar. No offense intended.

Well you were certainly in err but er or err or error... well it's hard for me to get excited about it.

Me too...have a good one.