Stormers lose yet another match as Lions win at Newlands

Ill-discipline cost the Stormers the game against the Lions on Saturday after they surrendered a comfortable lead in a flurry of yellow and red cards to go down 26-23.

Centre JJ Engelbrecht and replacement flank Jaco Coetzee received yellow cards in the 37th and 59th minutes while wing Raymond Rhule was given a straight red in the 51st minute.

Although the Lions ultimately won the match they were one-dimensional for the most part, attempting to run everything at the Stormers with little success.

They occasionally stretched the home team’s defence out wide but their lack of attacking variety meant than ran up blind alleys while the Stormers had their full compliment on the field.

But once Rhule was red-carded for dangerous play when he, more clumsily than maliciously, felled Ruan Combrinck the complexion of the game changed.

That left the Stormers to play the final 30 minutes with 14 men minutes after they had only just returned to 15 players following a yellow card against centre Engelbrecht last in the first half.

Engelbrecht was lucky not to collect a second yellow for a neck roll immediately after Rhule’s dismissal, but by then the damage was done with the Stormers soon surrendering a 10-point lead.

Coetzee then incurred the wrath of referee Nick Briant with the home team on a general warning for persistent infringements as they became increasingly desperate. His yellow card saw the Stormers down to 13 men and on the ropes.

From two of those penalties Lions hooker Corne Fourie scored off the back of rolling mauls to put the visitors in the lead with his second strike.

But the home team refused to collapse completely and hit the front again when flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis landed two late penalties to edge the Stormers ahead.

But Lions wing Madosh Tambwe secured victory with a well taken snipe in the corner with three minutes to go.

Earlier the Stormers scrum and tactical kicking game had the Lions in trouble as they ran into a 17-7 halftime lead.

Scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage scored sniping early try after some quick phase play, and Rhule scored when he ran on to a clever kick from wing Craig Barry.