Tim Swiel kicked the winning penalty for the second game in a row as the Stormers claimed a 25-22 victory over the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Gameflow: The Sharks dominated the opening 30 minutes of the match after taking an early lead through a long-range penalty from Curwin Bosch. This included the scrums, where loosehead prop Ox Nche shone in his battle against Frans Malherbe. Nche would also grab a try, driving over from close range in the 21st minute.
However, from there the Stormers did well to work their way back into the contest. Steven Kitshoff started winning his scrum battle against Thomas du Toit, allowing the Stormers to see more possession. A quick-fire brace of tries from wing Edwill van der Merwe gave the Stormers a 12-10 lead at the break.
The Stormers made a dream start to the second half as they capitalised on an error from Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi. From the ensuing lineout, Herschel Jantjies sent Pieter-Steph du Toit away for a try, handing the visitors a nine-point lead.
Sharks hit back after Jaden Hendrikse took a quick tap inside his own half, passed to Siya Kolisi who bumped off a defender and released Penxe to score. The Sharks then retook the lead in bizarre circumstances. Penxe made a tackle on Abner van Reenen, during which he knocked the ball with his head. Aphelele Fassi showed quick thinking and chased the loose ball, toed it ahead and scored under the posts.
After the TMO checked both the tackle and whether Sharks defenders had retreated 10 metres from a Pieter-Steph du Toit quick tap, the try was awarded.
Tim Swiel was brought on after that and he levelled the scores at 22-22 with his first penalty. While he missed his second attempt, he would hold his nerve and convert his third attempt in the 76th minute, which turned out to be the match winner.
Bok watch: Ox Nche had an excellent outing at loosehead prop for the Sharks. He more or less won his battle against Frans Malherbe and grabbed a try to boot.
Also impressive for the Sharks was Bok captain Siya Kolisi. He got through a tremendous amount of work and did extremely well to set Yaw Penxe away for a try.
Pieter-Steph du Toit, meanwhile, put in a man of the match performance during which he showed that he had lost none of his pace with his second-half try and made it through another 80 minutes unscathed.
Best of the rest: Edwill van der Merwe continued his excellent form this season with a brace of tries in the first half, including a memorable score. After receiving the ball in his own half from a kick, he beat Thomas du Toit and Thembelani Bholi and ran a good 60m to dot down under the posts.
Aphelele Fassi had a very good outing for the Sharks. His kicking game gave the hosts some very good territory in the second half and his try came from his own awareness and quick thinking to play to the whistle.
