The Stormers kicked off the Super Rugby season in the best possible way, blowing away the Hurricanes 27-0 at Newlands on Saturday.
Coach John Dobson’s team laid down the marker against a Kiwi side that simply weren’t at their best on the day.
But they say you only play as good as your opponents allow you to play and in that regard, the Stormers deserve full marks.
Enjoying 64 percent of the possession and 68 percent of the territory, the Stormers were also more disciplined than their visitors, conceding only six penalties to the 12 of the Canes.
It’s on the scoreboard, though, where Dobson’s men did the most damage, without even taking a hit.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperRugby?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperRugby- RESULT:
It was an outstanding performance from the Stormers as they crushed the Hurricanes 27-0 in their first #SuperRugby match of the season. pic.twitter.com/7et6VXYStc
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV)
After persistent pressure on the Canes defence, Stormers scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies - with a penalty advantage - gave a cheeky cross kick five metres from the tryline off the base of a ruck to the right wing, where Sergeal Petersen caught the ball to sail over to give the hosts a 5-0 lead in the eighth minute.
VUUR EN VLAM: Steven Kitshoff dotted down for the hosts. Picture: BACKPAGEPIX/RYAN WILKISKY
Jantjies was again in the action 10 minutes later, this time giving the final pass to prop Steven Kitshoff, who burst over the Canes line from close quarters.
Flyhalf Damian Willemse added the extras to make it 12-0.
But it was all about his halfback partner Jantjies, who intercepted a pass close to the halfway line, pinned his ears back and sprinted home to dot down himself.
That five-pointer made it 19-0 after only 25 minutes and effectively ended the contest.
While the ball bounced favourably for the Stormers, the opposite was true for the Hurricanes.
The visitors’ frustration was growing by the minute and saw them getting two yellow cards in the second half.
HITTING NEW HEIGHTS: Sergeal Petersen. Picture: RYAN WILKISKY/BACKPAGEPIX
The first was shown to centre Billy Proctor for a shoulder charge on Willemse and the second was given to replacement Vaea Fifita for a high tackle on hooker Scarra Ntubeni in the 58th minute.
Willemse converted the penalty from the last one and then also ran almost the entire length of the field after he intercepted a Hurricanes ball from a scrum five metres from the Stormers tryline.
That 77th minute score made it 27-0 and summed up exactly how the game went down.