The Stormers set out to make the people of Cape Town smile again, and on Saturday it was mission accomplished when they fought from behind to beat the Bulls 18-13 in the United Rugby Championship final at Cape Town Stadium.
In fact, it was more than just a smile, Capetionians had the laaste lag, as the Bulls threatened to spoil their party by dominating the first half and taking a 10-3 lead at one stage - 7-3 at the break.
The 31 000-strong crowd’s monde were stilgeklap after just three minutes, when Bulls hooker Johan Grobbelaar broke away from a rolling maul before offloading to centre Harold Vorster, who turned out of Ruhan Nel and Seabelo Senatla’s tackle attempts to power his way over. Chris Smith’s conversion made it 7-0.
While the Stormers got their first points of the match after Cornal Hendricks was penalised for being offside on the stroke of half time, flyhalf Manie Libbok’s conversion was not enough to put their fans at ease.
And when Sergeal Petersen was penalised for holding onto the ball and Smith made it 10-3 for the Bulls in the 43rd minute, the Stormers simply had to score the next points or risk a first defeat in 11 games.
They understood the importance of rukking themselves reg and won a five metre scrum after that restart.
From there, centre Damian Willemse took the ball up, before Evan Roos crashed over to level matters 10-10 in the 45th minute.
The Stormers were back in the match and when Hendricks was sin-binned for a high tackle on Ruhan Nel in the 56th minute, it was there for the taking.
From there, hooker replacement Andre-Hugo Venter who just came on for JJ Kotze who suffered a head knock, scored off the back of a rolling maul. Libbok’s missed conversion meant the Bulls were still one score away from regaining the lead at 15-10.
A side entry at a ruck by Warrick Gelant allowed Smith to make it 15-13 for a 64th minute penalty, and with drop-goal ace Morne Steyn on the Bulls bench, Stormers fans feared the worst with minutes to play.
But with six minutes to play, it was Libbok who converted a drop goal to make it 18-13. His kick was questionable, though, as the Stormers looked to have had men on the outside for a try that could have given them one hand on the trophy.
The magic moment. Incredible to share it with the Faithful at DHL Stadium. Thanks to every one of you for your support. You make us more than just a rugby team.#iamastormer #dhldelivers @Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/5L8pth2dk9
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) June 19, 2022
The Capetonians, though, held on for a historical first URC title in its inaugural year and while their fans’ monde was stilgeklap at the start of the contest, they enjoyed the laaste lag…