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The Emirates Western Force have missed an opportunity to notch a second win in succession in South Africa after producing a mistake riddled performance against an impressive Stormers outfit.
The competition leading South Africans were all too happy to pounce on any possession coughed up by the Perth side and made it count on the scoreboard where they enjoyed a bonus point six try outing in front of a big Newlands crowd.
Emirates Western Force skipper Nathan Sharpe became the most capped Super Rugby player in history but his 137th cap won’t be one of the fondest memories of his career despite the best efforts of the big second rower.
Sharpe did what he has done throughout his career and tested the opposition defensive line with typical bulldozer ball carries however a resilient Stormers defence was on guard for anything the Emirates Western Force could throw at them.
Young gun James O’Connor was the only one who was able to penetrate the Stormers line to score, registering all 16 of the club’s points, which included a try and a 100% record in his four shots at goal.
While the Cape Town side can lay claim to the best defensive record in the competition they were ably assisted by mistakes which gifted them a number of excellent scoring opportunities. Hooker Deon Fourie and Jaque Fourie scored a brace, while Stormers captain Jean de Villiers and Andries Bekker also chipped in with five pointers.
Flyhalf Peter Grant was a significant contributor in keeping the scoreboard ticking over for the home side, kicking 21 points and enjoying a perfect night with the boot.
“The disappointing thing about today was that we have always prided ourselves on the way we turn up to play and in this game we had a lack of respect for possession and didn’t defend well,” Emirates Western Force Coach Richard Graham said following the match.
“We had three turnovers from long restart kicks, you wouldn’t normally see that many in a whole in a season of rugby. On the back of those mistakes they (Stormers) scored three tries, if you do that you’re always going to struggle.”
The Emirates Western Force cause wasn’t helped following a virus that swept through the playing group the night before the match. Gene Fairbanks was one of the players who was under the weather and despite completing the warm-up he had to be replaced at the last minute by debutant Brian Sefanaia.
The match started badly for the visitors as the Stormers found room to cross for a try in the opening minutes. Able to capitalise on great field position after a turnover by the Perth side from the opening kick, Jaque Fourie found himself on the end of a sweeping move to score in the corner.
Nick Cummins, another suffering from illness, showed great mental toughness to be a thorn in the side of the Stormers defence throughout the night. A great early run through the middle of the field earned plenty of meters and a resultant penalty taken by O’Connor to get the West Aussies on the board.
The scoring to-and-fro continued as Deon Fourie this time rumbled over for his first try of the night which was followed just minutes later by O’Connor with a magnificent try for the Perth side.
The young flyhalf eyed a small gap and dashed past three defenders before brushing aside star winger Bryan Habana to touch the ball down. O’Connor converted his own try to whittle the Stormers lead back to just four points.
The sides traded penalty goals before the home fans were again celebrating a try, this time to de Villiers following yet another uncharacteristic mistake on the kick return from the Emirates Western Force.
Grant and O’Connor continued their private battle of the boot, each slotting another penalty goal before the half time buzzer sounded, the Emirates Western Force still in touch just 11 points behind.
Half time: Stormers 27 – 16 Emirates Western Force
If there was to be any second half revival from the West Australian’s the task was quickly made much tougher when Deon Fourie scored his second try just a minute after the restart. The big Stormers hooker showed a surprising turn of pace to charge down field, chip over the defence and regather off a kind bounce to score.
The match was effectively over some 13 minutes later when Jaque Fourie scored another try while the Grant conversion made it a 25 point advantage to the home side. The final margin blew out to 35 with another dead eye penalty kick from Grant and a sixth team try in the closing minutes.
The Emirates Western Force squad returns home this week to prepare for a match against the Melbourne Rebels in Perth on Saturday night.
2011 Super Rugby – Week 6
Stormers 51(Tries: Jaque Fourie 2, Deon Fourie 2, Jean de Villiers, Andries Bekker; Conv: Peter Grant 6; Pen: Grant 3)
Emirates Western Force 16 (Tries: James O’Connor; Conv: O’Connor; Pen: O’Connor 3)
Saturday, 26 March 2011 at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Milestones: Nathan Sharpe – 137th Super Rugby Cap (all-time competition record), Brian Sefanaia – Super Rugby & Emirates Western Force debut
By the Clock
2min Try to Stormers – Jaque Fourie 5 – 0
3min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 7 – 0
10min Penalty goal to Emirates Western Force – James O’Connor 7 – 3
22min Try to Stormers – Deon Fourie 12 – 3
23min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 14 – 3
25min Try to Emirates Western Force – James O’Connor 14 – 8
27min Conversion to Emirates Western Force – James O’Connor 14 – 10
30min Penalty goal to Stormers – Peter Grant 17 – 10
33min Penalty goal to Emirates Western Force – James O’Connor 17 – 13
35min Try to Stormers – Jean de Villiers 22 – 13
37min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 24 – 13
39min Penalty goal to Stormers – Peter Grant 27 – 13
40min Penalty goal to Emirates Western Force – James O’Connor 27 – 16
Half time Stormers 27 – 16 Emirates Western Force
41min Try to Stormers – Deon Fourie 32 – 16
43min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 34 – 16
43min Tim Fairbrother replaced by Kieran Longbottom
48min Ben Whittaker replaced by Nathan Charles
54min Try to Stormers – Jaque Fourie 39 – 16
56min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 41 – 16
56min Brett Sheehan replaced by James Stannard
63min Matt Hodgson replaced by Tevita Metuisela
63min Sam Wykes replaced by Tom Hockings
64min Yellow card – Stormers #7 Francois Louw
68min Penalty goal to Stormers – Peter Grant 44 – 16
77min Try to Stormers – Andries Bekker 49 – 16
79min Conversion to Stormers – Peter Grant 51 - 16
Full time Stormers 51 – 16 Emirates Western Force
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by jargan83
I could not figure out what the actual game plan of the Force was. We were to flat in attach The Stormers defense caught us behind the advantage line and we just kept on trying to run individually into 2 to 3 defenders Not once did we set up a descent pod of loose forwards and not once did we support the ball carrier into contact. JOC tired to much on his own rather than to take charge and get his back line deeper in attach.
