DHL Stormers fullback SP Marais scored a 72nd minute try to clinch a hard-fought 32-25 win over the Jaguares at Newlands on Saturday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
The Stormers did this the hard way, but in the end they managed to battle their way to a deserved victory based largely on a strong first-half showing.
Despite two second-half yellow cards, the Jaguares simply refused to throw in the towel, but Marais’ late strike was ultimately enough to ensure the hosts came away with back-to-back victories.
Last weekend, the Stormers blitzed the Bulls as they displayed a clear intent to play a ball-in-hand brand of rugby, and they certainly didn’t deviate from that approach, despite coming up against a strong counter-attacking Jaguares side.
The stats from the first half (according to All Out Rugby), certainly told a story. The Stormers completed 64 ball carries to 27, while making 443m to 129m. They enjoyed 60% of possession and 61% of territory.
With that in mind, they would have been disappointed to hold just a 17-11 lead at half-time, with that marginal advantage largely as a result of some poor handling. As many as 15 handling errors were committed in the opening stanza.
Although the Stormers had also forced the Jaguares to make as many as 28 tackles in the opening 10 minutes, it would be the visitors to open up an 8-3 lead after the opening try to captain Agustín Creevy.
However, the Stormers finally reaped some rewards for their attacking intent, with Marais then creating tries finished off by EW Viljoen and Jano Vermaak.
That double strike enabled the Stormers to open up a handy 17-8 lead, but a needless penalty conceded just before the break allowed Sánchez to cut the deficit by three.
That three-pointer was quickly cancelled out by another Du Plessis penalty soon after the restart, but the rest of the third quarter belonged well and truly to a Jaguares team that began to grow in confidence on attack.
Deservedly, a try to winger Santiago Cordero made it a two-point ball game, with momentum suddenly swinging in favour of the visitors.
Then came the decisive moment in the match as first Pablo Matera and then Matías Moroni were shown yellow cards in quick succession for cynical pieces of play, with the Stormers duly awarded a subsequent penalty try from a dominant 5m scrum against seven men.
At 27-18 with only 15 minutes to play, it seemed the game had been won, but against all odds the 13-man Jaguares created a second try for Cordero.
It seemed to be leading to a a potentially nervy finish, but Marais finished off a beautifully worked multi-phase move to rescue the result.
Stormers – Tries: EW Viljoen, Jano Vermaak, penalty try, SP Marais. Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (2). Penalties: Du Plessis (2).
Jaguares – Tries: Agustín Creevy, Santiago Cordero (2). Conversions: Nicolás Sánchez, Santiago González Iglesias. Penalties: Nicolás Sánchez (2).
Stormers – 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Subs: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Robert du Preez, 23 Seabelo Senatla.
Jaguares – 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Felipe Arregui, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Santiago García Botta.
Subs: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Cristian Bartoloni, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Benjamín Macome, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Matías Moroni.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
