The Stormers’ hopes of making the Super 12 semifinals were dealt a damaging blow on Saturday when they went down 33-15 to the Brumbies at Newlands.
Although the Cape side appear to be in a healthy position on the log, the loss to the Brumbies was their second at home and they are yet to tour Australasia.
The match was played at a frantic pace and the Stormers missed a golden opportunity to score early on after the Brumbies fluffed the first kick-off.
However, flyhalf Chris Rossouw’s pass was behind the men on his outside and the Brumbies were able to punt the ball into the safety of the Stormers’ 22-metre area.
It is where they camped for a while and lively Stormers flank Schalk Burger pulled off a desperate try-saving tackle on Brumbies centre Stirling Mortlock just short of the line after five minutes.
However, the Brumbies capitalised on an overlap on the right a minute later, with fullback Joe Roff finishing after a dummy by inside centre Matt Giteau.
The Stormers, however, drew level on 13 minutes after a good attacking spell in which centres De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert had the Australian outfit’s defence scrambling with a respective break and grubber.
It was, however, fullback Gaffie du Toit who opened their account when he joined the line at pace and finished off a backline move.
Roff added a penalty on the 22-minute mark before Joubert charged down and gathered a Mortlock kick for a try that had Newlands in raptures.
But the Stormers were made to pay for losing the ball at the kick-off and were penalised for hands in the ruck as the Brumbies attacked.
Roff stepped up to put the Brumbies 11-10 up. Both sides continued to play the game at a relentless pace, but mistakes started creeping into the Stormers game, with a number of skew lineout throws giving the Brumbies possession.
One such throw deep in their own 22-metre area handed the Brumbies a scrum in a perfect position to launch an attack from and it came as little surprise when lock Mark Chisholm ran in for a try.
Roff, however, fluffed a relatively easy conversion, which kept the Stormers within only one score at 16-10 down.
However, the Brumbies pulled away just two minutes into the second half, with former South Africa under-21 captain Clyde Rathbone rounding off under the Stormers posts after taking an audacious flick from Giteau.
The try followed another turnover from a Stormers lineout and their poor display in this basic of the game lay at the heart of their defeat.
In addition, there was some stout Brumbies defence, with the Stormers thwarted on a number of occasions.
Roff’s conversion of Rathbone’s try made it 23-10 and brought a hush over Newlands. Worse was, however, to follow for the home crowd, with Roff first stroking over a penalty before another lineout loss led indirectly to a try for Brumbies flank George Smith.
Smith, outstanding in his 50th match for the Brumbies, rounded off in the 63rd minute after a series of freak events.
One of the Brumbies players first got a hand to a clearance by Du Toit. The ball landed with Stormers captain Corne Krige, but Brumbies flank Owen Finegan snatched it and off-loaded to Smith.
Once again Roff converted and to all intents and purposes that was the ball game.
There was nevertheless a final flurry from the Stormers, with Tonderai Chavhanga, who had come on for an out-of-sorts Pieter Rossouw, finishing off in the 68th minute after the Stormers put together an attacking spell after the Brumbies were penalised at a scrum deep in their own 22-metre area.
It was a deserved victory for the Brumbies, who matched the Stormers physically and showed more composure on the ball. On the other side, the Stormers will have to find a solution to their lineout woes as a matter of urgency.
Scorers
Stormers: Tries: Fullback Gaffie du Toit, centre Marius Joubert, replacement wing Tonderai Chavhanga.
Brumbies: Tries: Fullback Joe Roff, lock Mark Chisholm, right wing Clyde Rathbone, flank George Smith.
Conversion: Roff (2). Penalties: Roff (3). – Sapa