Stormers too good for hapless Lions in Ellis Park United Rugby Championship clash

Durban — The Stormers continued their imperious surge up the United Rugby Championship log on Saturday afternoon with another compelling performance on the road, this time dispatching a hapless Lions team 32-10 at Emirates Airline Park.

The Stormers’ unbeaten run now includes victories over the Bulls and Lions away from Cape Town, a draw with the Sharks in Durban, and a comprehensive victory over the same team in the Cape.

The Stormers are not big on superstars but they are a tight unit and clearly enjoy playing for each other while the Lions are a team in a state of flux under Ivan van Rooyen in that they don’t appear settled on a game plan after the swashbuckling era of Swys de Bruin and Johan Ackermann.

Key to the Stormers’ rejuvenation is the growing stature of flyhalf Manie Libbok, who first made a name at the Bulls, had a brief tenure at the Sharks, and now seems set for a stellar career in the Cape.

In the forwards, beyond Steven Kitshoff the Stormers are mostly hard-working journeymen but they have a fighting spirit beautifully typified by the veteran Deon Fourie, who is a perpetual nuisance in motion.

After ten minutes of unsettled play by both sides as they felt each other out like boxers, Libbok kicked the Stormers into the lead after he had been high-tackled by Vincent Tshituka, and ten minutes after that Tiaan Swanepoel closed the opening quarter with a well-taken penalty.

That first quarter saw both teams squander opportunities in the opposition 22, and both were also guilty of surrendering momentum with elementary errors, but you always had the impression that the Stormers were going to burst into attacking life, while you wondered how the Lions could score beyond the rolling maul or the boot of Swanepoel.