The scores were tied 0-0 at the break and the Capetonians would have rued a couple of missed chances in the first half. Twice in the first 20 minutes they crossed the try-line, with a matter of inches between Damian Willemse and Sergeal Petersen scoring tries for the visitors.
Both teams defended well in the opening half, but it was a piece of cynical play by Siya Kolisi which broke the dam wall. The DHL Stormers captain was yellow carded right before the break and during the 10 minutes he spent in the sin bin, the Reds scored twice, through Samu Kerevi and Brandon Paenga, to take a 14-0 lead after 45 minutes.
The visitors fought back through a try by Kobus van Dyk, but when Tate McDermott tapped quickly from a penalty and exploited a momentary lapse of concentration by the visitors, the win was basically sealed for the Reds, even though Damian De Allende added a second try for Robbie Fleck’s team.
The DHL Stormers’ biggest problems were not converting their opportunities into points, a lack of patience on attack and too many mistakes. Their tour Down Under concludes next week against the top side in the Australian Conference, the Rebels in Melbourne.
Scorers:
Reds 24 (0) – Tries: Samu Kerevi, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Tate McDermott. Conversions: Bryce Hegarty (3). Penalty goal: Hegarty.
DHL Stormers 12 (0) – Tries: Kobus van Dyk, Damian de Allende. Conversion: Jean-Luc du Plessis.
