There are more than 14 minutes gone, with no score on the board. The Bulls have just broken the Stormers defensive line through Travis Ismaiel, and reached the 22.
But Eben Etzebeth brilliantly wins a penalty to save the day as Rudy Paige held on to the ball on the ground.
Now, normally all South African professional rugby teams, including the Springboks, would’ve been relieved to close down the danger and breathe again to clear their lines.
Instead, Damian de Allende takes a tap penalty on the 22 and finds Jano Vermaak, and the veteran scrumhalf races away before putting SP Marais away for an exhilarating touchdown.
When last have you seen such courage and conviction from the Stormers? And that was the case for most of the game as Robbie Fleck’s outfit laid down a serious marker in the South African Super Rugby conference.
The energy and urgency was evident from the Cape side. The Stormers “harassed” the Bulls into mistakes, were in their faces in defence and made the visitors chase after them with ball-in-hand.
They changed the angle of attack throughout, weren’t hesitant to probe the blindside (which led directly to Siya Kolisi’s try), there was good interplay between forwards and backs, and the likes of Rynhardt Elstadt and Kolisi hunted down those feared Bulls ball-carriers such as Jacques Potgieter, Hanro Liebenberg and RG Snyman.
The scrum was immense as the Stormers shoved the heavier Bulls unit backwards – the Trevor Nyakane tighthead experiment failed miserably – and the lineouts generally operated smoothly.
But after a 24-0 lead, the passive nature of the second-half performance is a worry. It was from the kickoff that the Stormers failed to control that the Bulls scored through Liebenberg, and the sense of having already won the game permeated the Cape side.
There were other chances for the Bulls as well, but they were poor on the night and didn’t take full advantage. Captain Handré Pollard didn’t hit the spot with his passes or kicks, and the lumbering Bulls pack lost the breakdown battle as well. Pollard’s admission afterwards that he was a bit surprised by the Stormers’ ball-in-hand approach – “they usually kick a bit more” – points to a yawning gap in the planning, as well as being unable to adapt and think on their feet.
But the key for the Stormers going forward is to keep on doing the unexpected, and that is in every respect. That was the major difference in the entire build-up, and during the match.
Having a greater focus on skills and bringing in a New Zealander in Paul Feeney to deal with that specifically is not usually the done thing in these parts.
Picking a captain like Siya Kolisi also reinforced the fact that the Stormers are ACTUALLY doing things differently in 2017, and not just saying that they are going to. Kolisi doesn’t have any official youth or senior rugby leadership experience, and he may not even have been a guaranteed first-choice in the loose trio, having come off an injury and with healthy competition in the squad.
But the character of the man and his willingness to “grow up” and be a senior figure made for an attractive option, and it proved to be an inspired decision based on what happened at Newlands on Saturday.
There were other developments in that regard as well – a relative “journeyman” in SP Marais at fullback instead of crowd favourite Cheslin Kolbe, who was shifted to wing; EW Viljoen trusted to operate in the vital outside-centre channel, on debut, ahead of Daniel du Plessis and Dan Kriel in the absence of Juan de Jongh and Huw Jones; and youngster Wilco Louw anchoring the scrum at tighthead instead of a Springbok in Frans Malherbe.
And remember that Seabelo Senatla wasn’t part of the match squad either.
For the Stormers to be real title contenders in 2017, Fleck and the rest of the decision-makers must continue to “take those tap penalties”, literally and figuratively. Catch the opposition off-guard with a quick tap on your own 22m line. Utilise different tactics for different opposition, or even during a game.
Don’t let up the intensity. Plan well, but trust your instincts. The Stormers also can’t afford to slip tackles like they did in the second half.
It’s only week one, but it was way more than any Stormers fan would’ve bargained for. Let’s see if they can keep the freight train going.
@ashfakmohamed