FULL-TIME! STORMERS 29-10 LIONS. A great afternoon for the Stormers to get back to winning ways, but a tough day for the Lions, who just never moved into fourth gear. An entertaining afternoon of rugby… we hope you enjoyed following it with us.
Stormers power forward, Libbok launching a cross kick from the Lions 22 as he is brought to ground, but the bounce favours the Lions who clear… with the hooter following.
CONVERSION, STORMERS, LIBBOK! 29-10; Libbok runs the shot clock down as he waits in front of posts before smashing it through the poles.
TRY, STORMERS, FOUCHE! 27-10; The Stormers power forward into the Lions 22, three lovely passes, with the last one finding Neethling Fouché, who powered 12m through open ground before flattening himself on the turf under the poles!
Nohamba tries a cross-kick to the wing, but it's just too deep and the Stormers will have a lineout to clear the danger.
The Stormers drive the Lions back towards their 22m, but the Lions keep coming and press up to the 5m line…
Lions with a penalty advantage have the ball to Nohamba, who kicks to touch for a 5m lineout… but the Stormers steal the ball back… Libbok sends a cross-kick to his right wing… and somehow the Stormers manage to force the ball away from the Lions and kick it out to touch. That's what high-risk poker looks like on the rugby field!
Lions pressing for all they are worth… a chip over the top fr Van den Berg to chase… but the in-goal area is thin and the ball skips out of play.
Stormers regain the ball and drive at the Lions, but they are penalised and Nohamba kicks play close to the Stormers 22.
Stormers press upfield but are run into touch inside the Lions 10m line.
CLOSE! Sanele Nohamba's conversion from the touchline is well struck but just creeps wide.
TRY, LIONS, MARAIS! 22-10; BRILLIANT PLAY from the Lions, the lineout taken short and the ball is fed back to Marais, who drives to the line and crashes over for the score. Superb try!
Stormers turn the lineout possession over and press play back upfield. Lions win a penalty on the halfway line… Van den Berg taps and goes, driving into the Stormers half … he's brought down and the Lions win another penalty, this time kicked into the Stormers 22 for a lineout.
Lions push the Stormers back to their 5m line, there's a dink through to run onto, but the Stormers claim the ball… and the ref blows for a penalty advantage for the Lions.
Lions continue to attack the Stormers with some great passing an running rugby.
GREAT RUN from Morné van den Berg to take play up to the Stormers' 22 before he is brilliantly tackled around his calves by Herschel Jantjies, and just not able to find a team-mate to pass to in a dangerous position for the home side.
CONVERSION, STORMERS, LIBBOK! 22-5; Libbok slots his fourth attempt at goal and the home side have a happy lead.
TRY, STORMERS, ZAS! 20-5; Stormers swamp the Lions, with Zas crashing over for the try.
YELLOW CARD, LIONS, RASS. Manny Rass is carded for an interception that was knocked forward… really unlucky as he was in a great position to catch it…but by knocking it forward the ref had to card him.
Francis with the conversion attempt from the left touchline… he starts it out wide, possibly hoping to sling it back through the poles… it does slide back towards the poles but just not enough.
TRY, LIONS, VAN DER MERWE! 15-5; Ball is spun out wide to Edwill van der Merwe on the left wing… he runs at his man, dnks a chip over him, runs forward and, with a good bounce, collects it then dives over the line for the five points! Superb effort.
Great attack from the Lions, and excellent defence from the Stormers to hold them up.
KICK-OFF! The second half is underway.
HALF-TIME, STORMERS 15-0 LIONS. One-way traffic at the moment.
Lions turn over the ball and kick deep, but the Stormers kick back from inside their 22… the Lions win the lineout and are awarded a penalty which is kicked to the Stormers' 10m as the hooter sounds… a last chance for the Lions to score… but the Stormers win the ball back from the Lions and Hartzenberg pokes the ball into touch to end the first half.
Stormers run at the Lions again… run, ruck, run, ruck…
OFF THE POST! Libbok's conversion from the left of the poles, 15m in from the touchline, starts on wide of the near. post but curls in… BUT IT SLAPS AGAINST THE UPRIGHT and bounces back infield!! Libbok is having no luck with his spot kicks today.
TRY, STORMERS, DWEBA! 15-0; The Stormers power forward from the Lions' 5m line, Dweba peeling off to crash over for another try. The Lions are looking fragile at the back now.
The Stormers run the line, but there's a handling error and the Lions will scrum just short of their 10m…
The Lions concede a penalty and Libbok kicks play deep upfield for a Stormers lineout 10m past the Lions' 10m…
Feinberg-Mngomezulu goes off with a muscle strain after an earlier tackle…. the Lions press forward on attack and make ground towards the Stormers 22 but knock-on and the Stormers will feed the scrum.
Libbok again misses with his conversion attempt… again from about 10m in from the right touchline, this time his effort starts right and can't pull back in.
TRY, STORMERS, HARTENBERG! 10-0; With the penalty advantage, Libbok gives a pinpoint crosskick to Suleiman Hartzenberg, who dives forward to catch the ball and dot down in one motion for a super smart try.
GREAT BREAK forward by Schickerling, but as he is brought down his pass fails to find his man, but the Stormers keep pressing forward…
The Stormers power over for a try, but the TMO has ruled it offside. Good break for the Lions, but being one man down for three-quarters of the match is a big ask.
RED CARD, LIONS, SCHOEMAN! The Lions man is sent off after going into a ruck with his shoulder and head making contact with a Stormers player in a very dangerous manner.
Correct decision.
Lions a scrum and look to push forward, but the Stormers reclaim possession and press them back…
Lions a scrum and look to push forward, but the Stormers reclaim possession and press them back…
Stormers win their lineout on their 10m line, run the ball but are brought to ground and the visitors look to counter-attack, but play breaks down as they knock-on in the backline. Stormers scrum on the Lions 10m.
Libbok strikes the conversion well from 10m inside the right touchline, but it started wide of the far post and never looked like coming back, so that's not the start the World Cup-winner would have wanted.
TRY, STORMERS, DWEBA! 5-0; The Stormers plough forward and over the line, with Dweba delighted to touch down for the five points.
Penalty awarded to the Stormers for a high tackle on the 22… Libbok kicks into touch for a 5m lineout…
Lions with a scrum but the Stormers turn possession over and drive to the 22, the ref calling a scrum but first asking the TMO to check for foul play.
Van den Berg spots a gap and sprints through and over for the try… but the TMO has spotted something and calls play back to past the Stormers 22 for a home penalty. Tough break for visitors as that was a superb move.
Lions win a scrum close to the Stormers 22, they run the ball, the tackle is made but scrumhalf Morné van den Berg picks up the loose ball, sprints into the Stormers 22 and heads for the tryline…
Stormers kick upfield from the base of the ruck… the mark is taken and the Lions kick play back upfield. Stormers lineout.
Still the Stormers running forward, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu doing great work to push past the Lions 10m and up to their 22 before being swallowed by the Lions' defence… and the visitors turn over possession and kick play back upfield. Great spell by the Stormers and some excellent defending by the Lions.
Stormers run the ball, their forwards playing their part as battering rams against the Lions' defensive wall… four phases the Stormers keep running and passing, left, right, left, right…
Stormers awarded a penalty and they kick for a lineout 10m from the Lions 22…
KICK-OFF! We're underway here at the Cape Town Stadium!
Both sides lost their last match, in Round 7. The Stormers went down 21-15 away to the Sharks, while the Lions suffered a 17-10 away loss against Munster.
The Lions are on 19 points, eight above the Stormers… and 15 behind first-placed Leinster. There are just two points between them and 11th-paced Scarlets, so the mid-table is pretty packed, so there is no time for resting on one's laurels.
The Lions are enjoying a great start to the URC, winning four of their opening six matches, putting them sixth in the table. Ironically, they still have a minus-4 points difference, so there is a vulnerability for the Stormers to exploit in their defence.
The Stormers are down in 13th place in the URC table having won just two of their six games. They have gone down four times already and have a minus-15 points difference.
The Stormers come into this match having won their last five matches against the Lions, so they should be feeling pretty confident.
Lions: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darriën Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Manny Rass.
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16 JJ Kotze, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Neethling Fouché, 19 Adré Smith, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Paul de Villiers, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Jean-Luc du Plessis.
Good afternoon and welcome to derby day in South Africa in the United Rugby Championship. It's the Stormers hosting the Lions at theCape Town Stadium… and the weather is perfect here in the heart of Cape Town.