After the disappointment of their defeat to the Waratahs, the Stormers on Friday bounced back in emphatic fashion, beating the Hurricanes 40-13 in their Super 12 scrap at Newlands in Cape Town.

It was a magnificent display of 15-man rugby by the home team, who should have scored more tries than the four they got. It was just desperate defence by the Hurricanes or a loose pass from the Stormers at critical times that prevented a real rout.

The rampant home team subdued the Hurricanes with a sublime brand of running rugby. However, the visitors played their part in making it a highly entertaining match for the 45 000 people who packed Newlands.

The visitors suffered a massive setback before the game when their All Black centre Tana Umaga had to withdraw because of a calf muscle injury. That led to a reshuffle, with Christan Cullen moving to centre and Daryl Lilley from wing to fullback. Lome Fa'atau was promoted to the starting line-up at wing.

The return of Werner Greeff to the flyhalf berth played a massive part in the Stormers' resurgence. He was as solid as a rock and his strong runs and big tackling kept the opposition busy.

At his inside Johannes Conradie, new boots and all, was a little dynamo. His service was crisp and his darting runs had the spectators on the edge of their seats.

In the end it was a great team effort by the home team, but the centre combination of De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert deserves a special mention. The latter finally showed off his silky running skills, while Barry was a tower of strength next to him.

He showed he is no slouch on the attack when he scored a brilliant try in the 36th minute, stepping inside Hurricanes flyhalf David Holwell and fending off two tacklers on the tryline in a 30m-run.

Percy Montgomery showed his class, not only on the attack, but also as goalkicker. He slotted 8 out of 9 kicks to the poles and deservedly won the Man of the Match award.

The Hurricanes had a halftime deficit of 26-13, but refused to lie down. They were unfortunate not to score twice after fighting back valiantly in the period just after halftime. Two great try-saving tackles - first from Daan Human on Jason Spice and then from Adri Badenhorst on Holwell - took the wind out of their sails.

The Stormers then came to life and in the 56th minute Conradie fed Montgomrey from a ruck. Hendrik Gerber took the ball up and hit Montgomery on full pace before the fullback unleashed a flying Pieter Rossouw on the disrupted defence. He scored underneath the posts and Montgomery added the two points to give the Stormers a healthy 33-13 lead.

In the 60th minute flank Campbell Feather copped a yellow card for a professional foul and the Stormers almost immediately took advantage of the situation when Rossouw slipped through for his second try after a great build-up. Montgomery added the two points to take the game out of reach for the Hurricanes at 40-13.

Lock Dion Waller followed his teammate to the sinbin in the 64th minute, leaving the Hurricanes with 13 men against the rampant Stormers. However, the mad tempo of the game took its toll and in the last ten minutes the game lost all structure and shape.

Scorers:

Stormers - Tries: Daan Human, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw (2); Conversions: Percy Montgomery (4); Penalties: Montgomery (4)

Hurricanes - Tries: Pita Alatini; Conversions: David Holwell; Penalties: Holwell (2)

Yellow Cards: Campbell Feather (60th), Dion Waller (67th)

Scoring Sequence:

First Half: 3-0 Montgomery penalty (4th); 10-0 Human try, Montgomery conversion (13th); 13-0 Montgomery penalty (17th); 16-0 Montgomery penalty (21st minute); 16-3 Holwell penalty (25th); 19-3 Montgomery penalty (28th); 19-6 Holwell penalty (31st); 26-6 Barry try, Montgomery conversion (38th); 26-13 Alatini try, Holwell conversion (40th).

Second Half: 33-13 Rossouw try, Montgomery conversion (17th); 40-13 Rossouw try, Montgomery conversion (23rd).

Teams:

Stormers: Percy Montgomery, Gus Theron, Marius Joubert, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw (v-capt), Werner Greeff, Johannes Conradie, Adri Badenhorst, Hendrik Gerber, Corné Krige (capt), Hottie Louw, Quinton Davids, Cobus Visagie, Tjoepie van den Heever, Daan Human. Substitutes: Martin van Schalkwyk, Faan Rautenbach (Visagie 73rd), Thys Stoltz (Louw 23rd), Pietie Ferreira (Krige 40th), Noël Oelshig (Conradie 78th), Wayne Julies (Barry 78th), Jeffrey Stevens.

Hurricanes: Daryl Lilley, Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen, Pita Alatini, Lome Fa'atau, David Holwell, Jason Spice, Jerry Collins, Kupu Vanisi, Dion Waller, Paul Tito, Campbell Feather, Gordon Slater (capt), Andrew Hore, Tony Penn. Substitutes: Shane Carter (Hore 70th), Tony Coughlan, Luke Andrews, Brent Thompson (75th); Riki Flutey (68th), Bryce Robins, Shannon Paku (Fa'atau 68th), Milton Ngaumo (Feather 75th).