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Stormers outmuscle Brumbies

Cape Town - The Stormers ended the Brumbies' unbeaten Super Rugby streak with a 35-22 (half-time 22-10) bonus-point win at Newlands on Saturday evening.

The Australian side nonetheless remained top of the standings, while the Stormers secured their second successive win to leave them lying mid-table.

The hosts were consigned to a largely defensive role in the opening minutes when they hardly managed to lay a hand on the ball.

VIDEO: Stormers v Brumbies, highlights

When they did reverse the flow of the game, the Brumbies were penalised for going off-side on their own 10m line and fullback Joe Pietersen slotted over a ninth-minute penalty.

In the ensuing play, it was the Stormers' turn to run hard at the Brumbies, who tackled well but could not contain the opposition's flair, and winger Gio Aplon ran in from 30m out for an 11th minute converted try.

Centre Christian Lealiifano reduced the deficit when he opened the Brumbies' scoring account with a 17th minute penalty.

Midway through the first half, an Elton Jantjies touch-finder from a penalty gave the Stormers a lineout five metres from the Brumbies tryline.

From the resultant driving maul, lock Andries Bekker pounced to score the Stormers' second try as they stretched the advantage.

The Brumbies' backline provided a moment of brilliance in the 28th minute and winger Henry Speight ran in virtually unchallenged for a converted try to narrow the gap.

On the stroke of half-time, the Stormers again proved a touch too enterprising and man-of-the-match Bekker rounded off splendidly next to the posts with a converted try to wrap up the first half as they took a 22-10 lead into the break.

Early second-half pressure saw the Stormers falling foul at the breakdowns and Lealiifano was twice on target with penalties in the opening 10 minutes to shrink the Stormers' lead to six points.

The home side clawed their way back to regain the initiative, and as the game reached the hour mark, Pietersen goaled a penalty to stretch their lead to nine points.

Over the next few minutes the game swung between the two 22m lines as the players set up attacking moves, but handling errors put paid to some promising sorties.

The Stormers had a chance to increase their lead in the final quarter but Pietersen pushed his attempt wide, while Lealiifano made good his attempt nine minutes from the end to put the tourists within striking distance of victory, just three points behind.

However, pressure from the Stormers in the final eight minutes resulted in a Gerhard van den Heever try to go with a Pietersen conversion and penalty as they wrapped up the win - their first bonus-point win since the 2011 season.

Scorers:

Stormers:

Tries: Gio Aplon, Andries Bekker (2), Gerhard van den Heever

Conversions: Joe Poetersen (3)

Penalties: Pietersen (3)

Brumbies:

Try: Henry Speight

Conversion: Christian Lealiifano

Penalties: Lealiifano (5)

Teams:

Stormers:

15. Joe Pietersen, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Gerhard van den Heever, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Dewaldt Duvenage, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Siya Kolisi, 5. Andries Bekker, 4. De Kock Steenkamp, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Tiaan Liebenberg, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16. Deon Fourie, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Don Armand, 19. Nizaam Carr, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Damian de Allende, 22. Jaco Taute

Brumbies:

15. Jesse Mogg, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Christian Lealiifano, 11. Joseph Tomane, 10. Matt Toomua, 9. Ian Prior, 8. Fotu Auelua, 7. George Smith, 6. Ben Mowen (captain), 5. Sam Carter, 4. Peter Kimlin, 3. Dan Palmer, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio

Substitutes: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Ben Alexander, 18. Scott Fardy, 19. Colby Faingaa, 20. Nic White, 21. Robbie Coleman, 22. Clyde Rathbone

HAVE YOUR SAY: What did you think of the Stormers' win over the Brumbies? Are they real title contenders after beating the top-of-the-table team? Send your thoughts to Sport24.
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