Springboks Jean de Villiers and Breyton Paulse snatched intercept tries as the Stormers beat the Wellington Hurricanes 30-17 in a Super 14 rugby match on Saturday.
De Villiers scored the first and Paulse the last of the Stormers’ four tries as the South African team, previously last on the championship table, took a bonus point from an away win over the Hurricanes who came into the match in second place.
Replacement Corne Uys and loose forward Justin Melck also scored tries for the Stormers while flyhalf Peter Grant, who was a major influence in their upset win, kicked two conversions and two penalties for 10 points.
De Villiers scored the Stormers first try after only five minutes, intercepting a pass between Hurricanes captain Paul Tito and centre Tamati Ellison as the South African side, helped by penalties to Grant, shot to an early 13-0 lead.
Paulse score his intercept try in the 69th minute to clinch the win and give the Stormers an important filip in the second of five straight matches on the road.
The Hurricanes fought back into the match during the second quarter, scoring a try through winger David Smith, a conversion and penalty to Jimmy Gopperth to trail 13-10 at halftime.
But the Stormers started the second half strongly, scoring tries after five minutes through Melck — a rare scrum pushover — and 10 minutes through Uys from a pinpoint crosskick by Grant.
They led 23-10 and Paulse’s 45m intercept dash made the win certain.
The Hurricanes were architects of their own demise. Their forwards, outplayed in lineouts and the loose, failed to set a stable platform and their backplay, which was scatterbrained, helped the Stormers.
The Hurricanes enjoyed a clear advantage at scrums but that was negated by the sub-standared refereeing performance of Australian Matt Goddard. Goddard, who was heavily criticised earlier this season by Queensland Reds coach Eddie Jones, was constantly lax in his interpretation of scrum law and favoured the outmanned Stormers.
He awarded Melck’s crucial try from a scrum pushover, though the scrum had clearly broken up in disarray before the try was awarded.
Goddard was also deficient at breakdowns and in his policing of forward passes.
The win lifted the Stormers five places off the bottom of the table.
”I think up until now it’s been a very difficult competition for us,” said Stormers captain Luke Watson.
”There have been a lot of ups and downs, mostly downs, and this could be an important turning point for us.” – Sapa-AP