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Instead it was Super Rugby rivals the Chiefs who felt the effects of ill fortune as a try was awarded against them -- by touch-and-go television match official verdict -- more than four minutes after the siren in Wellington for New Zealand conference rivals the Hurricanes to sneak a key encounter 28-25.
Although the Chiefs, who earned a losing bonus point, retained top spot on the overall standings their position is now considerably more tenuous in terms of the rights to a possible home final.
The Stormers simply require two points – a draw would achieve that, albeit unlikely considering there haven’t been any in the competition all season –in their home match against the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday (15:00) to ensure the top berth.
Perhaps more relevantly, the result at the Cake Tin after an enthralling NZ derby means that the Newlands-based team, in the midst of a rich winning habit, will not require four tries against the Rebels; just another basic triumph will do.
They have only played the limited Rebels once before, beating them 40-3 with a bonus point in Australia last season, so suddenly being defeated would be a jaw-dropper of note throughout the SANZAR territory: pundit Naas Botha was confident enough in the SuperSport studio to venture that “it just won’t happen”.
Whatever the argument about the reasonably unexciting playing style the Stormers have employed this year, if they see off the Rebels they will have earned 14 wins from their 16 ordinary-season fixtures – two more than the Chiefs.
Friday’s lone match threw the Hurricanes a lifeline by propelling them to 57 points and fourth place overall, simultaneously cranking up the pressure on South Africa’s other playoffs hunters the Bulls and Sharks.
The domestic sides slipped one rung each, to sixth and seventh respectively, with the Sharks thus elbowed just out of the playoffs zone.
But both teams have home derbies in hand on Saturday (the Bulls entertain the Lions and Sharks host the Cheetahs) and may only need wins without bonus points to be sure of spots in the finals series if the Reds win their own, all-Aussie affair against the Waratahs without managing to cross the whitewash four times in Brisbane.
Such a scenario would push the Hurricanes and the defending-champion Reds out of the playoffs, leaving South Africa with the satisfaction of three sides making the cut, along with two from New Zealand (Chiefs and almost certainly Crusaders) and one from Australia in the shape of the Brumbies.
*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing
