Johannesburg - The Stormers returned from their Vodacom Super Rugby tour of New Zealand and Australia in a much better space than looked likely before they re-crossed the Tasman Sea for the last leg of the trip.
According to the supersport.com website, the Stormers lost both games to Kiwi teams, which followed on from a home defeat to the Chiefs before departure, so by the time they got to Australia for the matches against the Waratahs and the Western Force, they had effectively lost three in a row. They had just the bonus point picked up for losing by less than seven to the Hurricanes to show for their efforts.
However, an unexpected bonus point win over the Waratahs was followed by a positive result in their final match against the Force. There were doubtless some who were enthused enough by the try scoring exploits against the Waratahs to expect something similar in Perth, but in truth that was never going to happen as the Force just play a different kind of game to the Waratahs.