Stormers 13
Ulster 7
EVAN ROOS SCORED in the 73rd minute to propel the Stormers to a 13-7 win over Ulster in Cape Town on Saturday night.
Ulster dominated much of this contest, and kept an attack-minded Stormers side stacked with Springboks scoreless for the better part of an hour.
In the end, however, a loss of composure and discipline allowed the hosts back into the game.
In spite of the balmy late summer conditions at the Cape Town Stadium, both teams struggled to get out of second gear – and the quality of the handling left a lot to be desired.
Ulster looked dangerous whenever they managed to beat the Stormers’ rush defence and get the ball to the edges. They punished a rare lapse by the hosts in the eighth minute, when No 8 Nick Timoney sailed through a gap in midfield and scored under the posts.
For much of the first half, the real battle played out at the scrum and in the air.
Springbok prop Steven Kitshoff, who spent his entire career in Cape Town before joining Ulster at the start of the current season, didn’t have everything his own way at the set-piece against local tighthead Neethling Fouché.
Both kickers had a forgettable night from the the tee. Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok pushed two long-range penalty attempts wide, while Ulster scrumhalf John Cooney was equally wasteful in the first stanza.
The stop-start nature of the contest suited the visitors more than the hosts, who struggled to retain possession for significant periods and to bring their dangerous backline players into the game.
Credit must go to Ulster’s defence. Not many teams keep the Stormers scoreless over the course of an entire half, especially at the Cape Town Stadium.
To reiterate, the conditions were ideal for running rugby. Ulster did well to stifle the Stormers at source, and to prevent the home side from generating any significant momentum for most of the contest.
The Stormers broke the shackles in the 54th minute, and a sweeping counter-attack from their own half appeared to have culminated in a try for Evan Roos. Ulster scrambled back, though, and prevented the No 8 from dotting down.
The introduction of Frans Malherbe had an immediate impact for the hosts. The double World Cup-winner won a penalty at the ensuing scrum, with his old team-mate Kitshoff buckling under the pressure.
This time, Libbok translated the penalty into points – the hosts’ first of the contest after 55 minutes.
The crowd began to find its voice when the Stormers charged down an attempted clearance by Stewart Moore deep in Ulster territory. Somehow Ulster managed to turn over the ensuing maul, and to silence the home fans.
They would not be silenced for long, though.
When flanker David McCann slapped the ball out of Herschel Jantjies’s hands at a ruck in the 61st minute, referee Sam Grove-White brandished a yellow card.
With seven minutes remaining, the Stormers won a penalty and kicked to touch. This time the lineout and the maul fired, and Roos was awarded a crucial five-pointer.
Libbok, who had missed a couple of earlier penalties from right out in front, nailed the touchline conversion.
The result marks the end of a largely unsuccessful tour to South Africa, with Ulster losing to both the Sharks and the Stormers, and claiming one log point across the two games.
Stormers scorers:
Try: Evan Roos
Conversions: Manie Libbok [1 from 1]
Penalties: Libbok [2 from 4]
Ulster scorers:
Tries: Nick Timoney
Conversions: John Cooney [1 from 1]
Penalties: Cooney [0 from 2]
STORMERS: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Manie Libbok, Paul de Wet; Brok Harris, Joseph Dweba, Neethling Fouche, Salmaan Moerat (c), Ruben van Heerden, Willie Engelbrecht, Hacjivah Dayimani, Evan Roos.
ULSTER: Mike Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Ethan McIlroy; Nathan Doak, John Cooney; Steven Kitshoff, Rob Herring (c), Tom O’Toole; Harry Sheridan, Kieran Treadwell; Matty Rea, David McCann, Nick Timoney.
Referee: Sam Grove-White