Waratahs hold Stormers
The Waratahs held the Stormers to a 13-13 draw in Cape Town on Saturday, leaving the race for Super 14 semi-final spots wide open.
Last Updated: 10/05/08 10:00pm
The NSW Waratahs held the Stormers to a 13-13 draw in Cape Town on Saturday, leaving the race for Super 14 semi-final spots wide open.
Any one of five teams could mathematically still get a home semi-final after the result, which leaves the Waratahs and the Hurricanes in prime position for the home berth, and the Sharks, Stormers, Chiefs, and Blues scrapping it out for fourth and the right to visit the Crusaders.
The weather ruined what ought to have been an epic contest - it bucketed down with rain, enough to cause puddles on the pitch, combined with a strond wind to end any hopes of expansive rugby.
The Waratahs ran the ball more, and paid the price, not only did the rain pour scorn on their ambition, but the Stormers' defence was terrific against the bogged-down attack.
The Stormers played a far more sensible territorial game, with both Peter Grant and Conrad Jantjes terrorising the Waratahs' back three with the boot.
It was, by and large, the new rules that stopped the Stormers grabbing a more decisive win. Five times in the first half they were penalised for offences relating to the follow-up of kicks and the new offside lines at a tackle. Kurtley Beale landed one of the penalties through the posts in the first minute, and a second after half an hour.
In between, the Stormers produced the lone try of the half, and it was also aided by the weather. Grant spun out a rare high-risk pass to Jean de Villiers, who drew his man expertly and fed Sereli Naqelevuki.
The Fijian was tackled some five metres short, but managed to slide over into the line.
Thereafter, it was the men in light blue who dominated possession, but could not find a way through the navy blue wall. There were a lot of knock-ons in contact, and too many ineffective territorial kicks.
Human try
The Waratahs led 6-5 at the break but that changed within 14 seconds of the restart. Lachie Turner, who will turn 21 on Sunday, decided the gifts were on him and lingered over the clearance before kicking into the outstretched arms of Wylie Human, and the wing pounced on the sliding ball for the score.
Human nearly undid some of his five-point work with a shoulder-charge on Phil Waugh 10 minutes later, but Beale was off-target with the penalty as the rain began to subside.
In the drier spell, the Waratahs showed a little more of what they could do. More passes began to stick and more metres were gained. Once again though, that navy blue wall - Andries Bekker particularly prominent - held firm, and still the visitors were trying to force it once too often.
The Stormers then pounced when De Villiers seized on a turnover and kicked intelligently for Luke Watson to chase. Watson's foraging earned his team a penalty, which Tony Brown converted to make it 13-6 with 15 minutes to go as the rain began to come down again, and in torrents.
But there was a further twist when - for once - some passes and carries stuck in Waratah hands in the wet, and out the ball went to Lote Tuqiri, who slid home. Beale's conversion from the touchline was majestic, levelling the scores at 13-13 with 11 minutes remaining.
The Waratahs grafted earnestly for those minutes - in the end, they had over 70 percent of the second-half possession - but could not repeat their scoring move. The hosts, for so long the more physically dominant team, faded a little, and were clinging on by the end.
