Stormers wing Suleiman Hartzenberg dives over to score against Edinburgh in their URC match in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
The Stormers produced a powerful second half performance to clinch a strong 34-18 (halftime 7-10) bonus point win over Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The first half of the match belonged to the visitors, but the home side defended superbly and struck late to make sure that they only trailed by three points at the break.
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It was a strong start to the game from Edinburgh and an early break from flyhalf Blair Kinghorn, led to the Stormers straying offside, allowing Kinghorn to slot a penalty for a 3-0 lead in the fifth minute.
An incredible spell of defence from the Stormers, between the 17th and 29th minutes saw them desperately try to keep Edinburgh out, with them conceding a number of penalties in their 22m, which also saw flyhalf Manie Libbok yellow carded for a deliberate knock down in the 22nd minute.
Eventually the Stormers defence was breached as Edinburgh attacked from a 5m scrum, before a few pick and goes ended with prop Pierre Schoeman powering over from close range, with Kinghorn’s extras giving the visitors a 10-0 lead after half an hour of play.
The final five minutes of the half then saw the Stormers best spell, as they came close to scoring through wing Angelo Davids, with Edinburgh hooker Stuart McInally yellow carded for slowing the ball down on the line.
The Stormers then kicked to the corner and set up a maul, with flank Deon Fourie bursting through the middle to score, and Libbok adding the extras to make it 10-7 at the break.
The Stormers then continued to make use of the extra man in the second half, kicking a penalty to the corner, setting up the maul, with hooker Joseph Dweba this time breaking off to force his way over, while Libbok slotted the conversion to put the home side 14-10 up after 44 minutes.
Libbok and Kinghorn then traded penalties, with the Edinburgh one due to foul play from eighthman Evan Roos that saw him yellow carded in the 52nd minute.
The Stormers however saw out the 10 minutes without any trouble and moved 20-13 ahead thanks to another Libbok penalty in the 65th minute.
Three minutes later with Edinburgh on attack just outside the Stormers 22m, a skip pass attempt was intercepted by Stormers wing Suleiman Hartzenberg and he sprinted away to score a converted try, giving them a 27-13 lead.
The Stormers then suffered a double blow in the 75th minute when replacement prop Sazi Sandi received a red card after a clash of heads in a tackle, which saw Edinburgh kick to the corner and power a maul over, with replacement hooker Dave Cherry scoring the unconverted try.
However despite having a man less the Stormers were able to go up the other end from the kick off, with Libbok then making space to put Hartzenberg in for the bonus point try after the full time hooter to seal the win.
Scorers
Stormers: Tries – Deon Fourie, Joseph Dweba, Suleiman Hartzenberg (2); Conversions – Manie Libbok (4); Penalties – Libbok (2)
Edinburgh: Tries – Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry; Conversion – Blair Kinghorn; Penalties – Kinghorn (2)
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