Stormers end bonus-point drought

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The Stormers claimed a 35-8 bonus-point win against the Jaguares at Newlands on Friday to record their third-straight victory. JON CARDINELLI reports.

The win column suggests that this Stormers side is doing something right. It took them 77 minutes to secure the bonus-point try on Friday – their first of the season – but they were always in control of this contest.

Their 2019 record now reads: played four, won three. And after beating the Lions, Sharks and Jaguares in succession, they will travel to Australasia for a tough four-match tour with some hope and confidence.

The Stormers are not about to contend for the Vodacom Super Rugby title, though. On Friday, they produced another patchy showing against an equally inconsistent Jaguares outfit. The Stormers forwards misfired at the gainline and lineout initially, but grew stronger in these areas as the game progressed.

The Stormers were well in control of the contest by half-time. Flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis’ kicked for his teammates to chase, and a mistake by Jaguares wing Bautista Delguy was duly punished. Stormers centre Dan du Plessis collected the loose ball to score.

The Jaguares had the upper hand at the collisions in the first half. While the Stormers lacked mongrel at the gainline, they did limit the visitors to one try during this period.

SP Marais made the most of the Stormers’ scoring chances at the other end of the field. The winger landed a monster of a penalty – some 55m – right on half-time to give his side a commanding 16-8 lead.

Stormers captain Siya Kolisi scored in the 49th minute, and another successful conversion by Marais saw the Stormers extending their lead to 15 points. The hosts began to impose themselves at the gainline, and a quick ruck recycle saw Herschel Jantjies crashing over for his team’s third try of the evening.

At that stage, the hosts looked to be on course for a bonus-point win. They hammered away at the Jaguares defensive line, and were eventually rewarded for their persistence when Justin Phillips scored three minutes from time.

The Stormers will travel to New Zealand on Sunday. Their tour schedule sees them tackling the Hurricanes, Blues, Reds and Rebels on consecutive weekends.

Stormers – Tries: Dan du Plessis, Siya Kolisi, Herschel Jantjies, Justin Phillips. Conversions: SP Marais (2), Jean-Luc du Plessis. Penalties: Marais (3).

Jaguares – Try: Bautista Delguy. Penalty: Joaquin Diaz Bonilla.

Stormers – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 SP Marais, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Ruhan Nel, 23 Damian Willemse.

Jaguares – 15 Joaquín Tuculet (c), 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Tomas Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Mayco Vivas.
Subs: 16 Gaspar Baldunciel, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19  Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere.

Photo: Nic Bothma/EPA

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Jon Cardinelli