First-half frustration made way for second-half sensation as the Stormers broke Clermont Auvergne’s resolve in their Champions Cup clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The win seals their place in the round of 16 of the prestigious competition but the match was also a triumph for the way they were able to troubleshoot their way out of a tight spot.
Lacking rhythm and cohesion in the first half, the Stormers found something in reserve in the second as Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies and Jean-Luc du Plessis stepped off the bench to change the course of the match.
They had barely been on the field when their impact was felt. Du Plessis toed the ball through a gap, forcing visiting flyhalf Anthony Belleau to tip the bouncing ball out of reach of the speeding Angelo Davids.
Belleau saw yellow and the Stormers opportunity. They kicked to the corner and Roos drove over for the game’s opening try.
It almost seemed too easy.
In the first half they were error-ridden and the Clermont defence was resolute. The hosts’ tactical kicking was poor in that period and they show no patience in attack to wear the visitors down.
By the half-hour mark the home team boasted 70% possession and almost as much territory, yet they were scoreless.
They only registered points three minutes before halftime when Kade Wolhuter converted a penalty.
The try Roos scored handed the home team the lead and with it the ascendancy.
Du Plessis and Jantjies brought urgency and direction. When the latter’s cut out pass found Suleiman Hartzenberg near the touchline the right-wing seemingly had nowhere to go. He however quickly got rid of his marker and while he was eventually brought down, losing his shorts in the process, he had the gumption to offload to Jantjies who went over in the corner.
Dan du Plessis, who had been one of the home team’s most influential figures, then scythed through a gap and beat the last defender en route to the try line.
Another tireless toiler, Deon Fourie, then secured a bonus point from the back of the maul.
As impressive as they were when they clicked, the Stormers will have cause to revisit their first-half performance.
They conceded too many penalties which Belleau happily seized upon. They will also interrogate why their scrum did not meet full reward.
The battle between Stormers’ loose head and captain Steven Kitshoff and Clermont’s vastly experienced Rabah Slimani was much anticipated.
In fact, the first scrum of the game produced a flashpoint between the two with the Frenchman fingered for going outside the laws.
Despite seeming dominance in that area it was the Stormers that were penalised at the next two set pieces.
Clermont who slipped to 10th in the Top 14 also suffered twin defeats to Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup. That culminated in them firing head coach Jono Gibbes earlier in the week but under another former Super Rugby veteran, Jared Payne, who was handed the temporary reins, they played with great resolve in the first half.
But they couldn’t keep it up.
Scorers
Stormers (30) — Tries: Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies, Dan du Plessis, Deon Fourie. Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (2). Penalties: Kade Wolhuter (2).
ASM Clermont (16) — Try: Bautista Delguy. Conversion: Garbine Michet. Penalties: Anthony Belleau (3).
Stormers show something in reserve
They put poor first half behind them before dazzling against Clermont
Image: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
First-half frustration made way for second-half sensation as the Stormers broke Clermont Auvergne’s resolve in their Champions Cup clash at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The win seals their place in the round of 16 of the prestigious competition but the match was also a triumph for the way they were able to troubleshoot their way out of a tight spot.
Lacking rhythm and cohesion in the first half, the Stormers found something in reserve in the second as Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies and Jean-Luc du Plessis stepped off the bench to change the course of the match.
They had barely been on the field when their impact was felt. Du Plessis toed the ball through a gap, forcing visiting flyhalf Anthony Belleau to tip the bouncing ball out of reach of the speeding Angelo Davids.
Belleau saw yellow and the Stormers opportunity. They kicked to the corner and Roos drove over for the game’s opening try.
It almost seemed too easy.
In the first half they were error-ridden and the Clermont defence was resolute. The hosts’ tactical kicking was poor in that period and they show no patience in attack to wear the visitors down.
By the half-hour mark the home team boasted 70% possession and almost as much territory, yet they were scoreless.
They only registered points three minutes before halftime when Kade Wolhuter converted a penalty.
The try Roos scored handed the home team the lead and with it the ascendancy.
Du Plessis and Jantjies brought urgency and direction. When the latter’s cut out pass found Suleiman Hartzenberg near the touchline the right-wing seemingly had nowhere to go. He however quickly got rid of his marker and while he was eventually brought down, losing his shorts in the process, he had the gumption to offload to Jantjies who went over in the corner.
Dan du Plessis, who had been one of the home team’s most influential figures, then scythed through a gap and beat the last defender en route to the try line.
Another tireless toiler, Deon Fourie, then secured a bonus point from the back of the maul.
As impressive as they were when they clicked, the Stormers will have cause to revisit their first-half performance.
They conceded too many penalties which Belleau happily seized upon. They will also interrogate why their scrum did not meet full reward.
The battle between Stormers’ loose head and captain Steven Kitshoff and Clermont’s vastly experienced Rabah Slimani was much anticipated.
In fact, the first scrum of the game produced a flashpoint between the two with the Frenchman fingered for going outside the laws.
Despite seeming dominance in that area it was the Stormers that were penalised at the next two set pieces.
Clermont who slipped to 10th in the Top 14 also suffered twin defeats to Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup. That culminated in them firing head coach Jono Gibbes earlier in the week but under another former Super Rugby veteran, Jared Payne, who was handed the temporary reins, they played with great resolve in the first half.
But they couldn’t keep it up.
Scorers
Stormers (30) — Tries: Evan Roos, Herschel Jantjies, Dan du Plessis, Deon Fourie. Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (2). Penalties: Kade Wolhuter (2).
ASM Clermont (16) — Try: Bautista Delguy. Conversion: Garbine Michet. Penalties: Anthony Belleau (3).
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