The Stormers were condemned to a heart-breaking 24-17 defeat to Glasgow Warriors following a last gasp try by Sebastian Cancelliere in a thrilling Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash at Scotstoun Stadium on Sunday.

Both teams looked dangerous and put on a show during the first half, which was played at a fast pace. Both teams scored twice, but it was Manie Libbok’s kick that made the difference, giving the Capetonians a slim 12-10 lead at halftime.

But the usually reliable DHL Stormers flyhalf missed three kicks at goal in the second half. This left the highly entertaining and high-quality game on a knife edge with the scores tied at 17-all until Sione Tuipulotu’s brilliant piece of vision, a grubber behind the defending champions’ defense, let Cancelliere score the winning try in the last play of the game.

The Scottish team scored first, and they did it in style. In the eighth minute, Cancelliere finished off a series of passes for an unconverted try.

The DHL Stormers came back and took the lead in the 15th minute after lock Lewis Bean was given a yellow card and Joseph Dweba got off the back of a driving maul and powered his way over for a try that was converted by Libbok.

The 14-person hosts kept kicking the ball into the air, and South African-born captain Kyle Steyn stunned the DHL Stormers with a second five-pointer.

Before Bean came back from the sin bin, the visitors had a chance to set up a 5m lineout, but Libbok kicked the ball out of play. He didn’t make the same mistake when his forwards won the first of two scrum penalties in the half. This put his team back in the 22 where Paul de Wet’s bullet pass helped Clayton Blommetjies score.

Libbok couldn’t add the extras from the right sideline, and after one last scare, they kept their lead at halftime.

Right after the break, the Capetonians were noticeably slower and had to work hard. They made it easy for Glasgow to gain yards, and in the 51st minute, former DHL Stormer and Man of the Match Huw Jones danced past a few defenders to put the home team back in front. George Horne’s conversion made it a five-point game.

John Dobson went to his bench, and one of the replacements, Junior Pokomela, tied the score 18 minutes from the end by crashing over from close range. As the rain started to fall, which made the game even more exciting, Libbok missed the conversion and a penalty goal.

Angelo Davids, who came in for an injured Lionel Zas, saved the game with a great tackle on Steyn that stopped a try. This inspired the DHL Stormers to play a very strong defensive set on their line.

In the end, though, Tuipulotu’s touch of class gave the Warriors a famous win, their 11th straight at home, plus a bonus point.

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