Cape Town - The Stormers have beaten the defending champion Reds in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash in Brisbane on Friday.

GALLERY: Reds v Stormers in Brisbane

The Stormers won 23-13 after leading 17-3 at half-time.

Stormers wing Gio Aplon and flyhalf Peter Grant scored tries for the visitors in the opening stanza, with Grant on target with both conversions and three penalties for a personal haul of 18 points.

The Reds replied with a try by lock and skipper James Horwill and a penalty by replacement Ben Lucas after No 10 Sam Lane was forced to leave the field with a leg injury after only four minutes. Centre Mike Harris was also successful with two penalties.

The Stormers picked up four points for their victory to retain their position atop the South African Conference. They also moved to the top of the Combined log.

The Reds left empty-handed and remained second and ninth in the Australian Conference and Overall standings respectively.

In next weekend's Round 10 action, the Stormers travel to Perth to play the Force, while the Reds visit Auckland to take on the Blues.

Teams:

Reds:
15. Luke Morahan, 14. Rod Davies, 13. Ben Tapuai, 12. Mike Harris, 11. Dom Shipperley, 10. Sam Lane, 9. Will Genia, 8. Radike Samo, 7. Beau Robinson, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 5. James Horwill (captain), 4. Rob Simmons, 3. James Slipper, 2. James Hanson, 1. Ben Daley

Substitutes: 16. Albert Anae, 17. Greg Holmes, 18. Van Humphries, 19. Jake Schatz, 20. Liam Gill, 21. Ben Lucas, 22. Nick Frisby

Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Bryan Habana, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Gio Aplon, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
 
Substitutes: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Nick Koster, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Burton Francis, 22 JP du Plessis