Stormers keep the Sharks at bay

Stormers ……..29 Sharks …………23

The Stormers completed a double over their South African opposition with a hard-fought win at Cape Town Stadium to strengthen their hold on second place in the URC.

Curwin Bosch’s penalty put the Sharks ahead but the Stormers were soon in front with full-back Clayton Blommetjies and centre Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu svcoring.

Bosch restored the Sharks’ lead with a penalty but the rest of the first half belonged to the Stormers. Flanker Ben-Jason Dixon was gifted a first URC try from Henco Venter’s wayward pass before Blommetjies burst through.

The Sharks showed more grunt up front and enterprise behind at the start of the second half but the Stormers scored their fourth try when Mannie Libbok’s cross-kick picked out Blommetjies.

Sharks wing Yaw Penxe pounced after a clever kick and Rohan Janse van Rensburg reduced the deficit further with a strong run. Bosch converted to cut the gap to eight points and, after replacement Sazi Sandi was yellow-carded, Grant Williams sliced past several Stormers defenders for a superb solo score.

Seabelo Senatla also saw yellow for a cynical trip but the Stormers saw out the final seven minutes with clever game management and Libbok’s penalty clinched matters.