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Stormers surge to sixth straight home win

Win over Glasgow Warriors moves them among the tournament's elite

Liam Del Carme Sports reporter
Junior Pokomela of the Stormers tries to get away from Glasgow Warriors players during their United Rugby Championship match at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town on Friday night.
Junior Pokomela of the Stormers tries to get away from Glasgow Warriors players during their United Rugby Championship match at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town on Friday night.
Image: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix

They took a while to get going but the Stormers delivered a performance that underlined their credentials against one of the United Rugby Championship's (URC) most potent units on Friday.

They surged to a 32-7 win at Cape Town Stadium over Glasgow Warriors who started the match third on the table, level on points with second-placed Ulster.

By the final whistle the Stormers occupied second place.

Crucially, the bonus point win cemented the Stormers' place at the top of the SA conference and sets them up for next weekend's crunch clash against log leaders Leinster.

A powerful scrum and gainline dominance meant their backs were able to run onto the ball at speed and it caused the visitors to scramble for much of the second half.

The Stormers weren't making much headway in the first half-hour. For much of the first half the Stormers were devoid of continuity but to be fair both teams stunted the other's momentum. Their initial toil went unrewarded, largely through their own imprecision while uncharacteristic poor defence led to a try for impressive visiting flank Jack Dempsey.

However, fullback Damian Willemse and flank Hacjivah Dayimani helped ignite the hosts as they overturned the deficit into a handy 13-7 lead by the time the halftime whistle sounded.

Though hooker Scarra Ntubeni initially struggled to find his line-out jumpers he tellingly located one in the 34th minute and from that platform the hosts mauled and then hit with their backs.

When the ball emerged they did not seem to go anywhere before Willemse's flat run invited a teammate's fast and direct approach. It arrived in the shape of Rikus Pretorius who burst through the first line of defence for their opening try.

Dayimani, who continued his superb form along with fellow backrower Evan Roos, again proved instrumental. He played a telling hand in the tries of Herschel Jantjies, Leolin Zas and Roos.

The Stormers will draw huge comfort and inspiration from the win, not just for the fact that they downed one of the top European outfits, but that they are adding building blocks to their game with each passing week.

Scorers

Stormers (32) — Tries: Rikus Pretorius, Herschel Jantjies, Leolin Zas, Evan Roos. Conversions: Manie Libbok (3). Penalties: Libbok (2).

Glasgow Warriors (7) — Try: Jack Dempsey. Conversion: Ross Thompson.

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