The Stormers' Schalk Burger looks for an offload
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Matches: New South Wales Waratahs 18 - 32 Stormers

The Stormers have defended their way to a memorable victory over New South Wales Waratahs in Sydney, the visitors picking up a bonus-point 32-18 win after two opening defeats on tour.

The Cape Town-side were far too good on Saturday night as they smothered the Waratahs in defence and stifled the defending champions' key strike weapons. The hosts made did make life difficult for themselves however, simple mistakes and pushed passes resulting in 18 turnovers.

"I just think we played poorly. Particularly in the second half we were just very poor," Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said. "We just didn't do the things that we do normally and you pay when that happens."

The hosts, playing in a teal strip for charity, made a patchy start as the Stormers enjoyed the best of the early contests. They picked up three points for their efforts, too, with fly-half Demetri Catrakilis kicking a penalty on five minutes after the Waratahs were ruled to have infringed at the scrum.

But the Waratahs didn't take long to respond, and what a reply it was as Israel Folau produced a miracle take to put winger Taqele Naiyaravoro over in the corner. The superstar fullback plucked a ball in from behind his body and unloaded to Naiyaravoro who trampled over three Stormers defenders to touch down in the corner.

Catrakilis soon regained the lead for the visitors however with his second penalty of the night; the 6-5 advantage coming after Waratahs fly-half Bernard Foley had been unable to land the difficult conversion for Naiyarvororo's try. And the Stormers moved further in front when they forced a Waratahs turnover and made full use of the ball to score through Damian de Allende. Some excellent defence saw a Waratahs pass find the floor and, after hooker Scarra Ntubeni had toed through the loose ball, the Stormers quickly went wide to free up de Allende.

The Waratahs continued to be their own worst enemy as a promising raid into the Stormers' quarter came to an end on the half-hour mark when back-rower Jacques Potgieter got in the way of Benn Robinson. The mistake was confounded when referee Mike Fraser penalised the Waratahs for a second time at the scrum to give the Stormers an easy passage up to halfway.

The hosts reduced the gap five minutes out from the break as Foley kicked a penalty from right in front. But they needed a spark following a disappointing first half in attack and it came in the form of Kurtley Beale. The Waratahs inside centre slid between two Stormers defenders and put Nick Phipps away but the cover defence arrived to deny the halfback.

The hosts would get the five-pointer they were desperate for however with Rob Horne reeling in a loopy Phipps pass from the ensuing scrum - the Stormers having knocked on following Phipps' earlier break - to touch down just before he was bundled into touch. Foley was successful with the touchline conversion this time around, giving the Waratahs a 15-13 lead at the break.

The visitors had the first chance at points upon the resumption but replacement fly-half Kurt Coleman was unable to land a 50-metre penalty. The Waratahs then spurned a penalty attempt of their own to chase a try and it proved to be the wrong decision when Foley threw a forward pass to Folau; the exact kind of mistake coach Michael Cheika must have spoken about at half-time.

One can only imagine Cheika's frustration at what took place from the ensuing scrum. Having had success with a chip kick in the first half, the Stormers repeated the play from inside their own quarter with winger Jacobus Van Wyk getting a wonderful bounce and sprinting 70 metres for an opportunistic five-pointer. Coleman landed the conversion and it was the visitors back in front at 20-15.

Having pushed for the try a few minutes earlier, the Waratahs then opted for three points on 50 minutes when the Stormers were penalised at the breakdown. Foley's attempt hit the posts however and while they managed to regather the ball, the Waratahs couldn't crack the visitors' line with Foley eventually knocking on just a metre from the line. The fly-half did manage to close the gap to two points when he kicked a penalty on 57 minutes.

The physical nature of the encounter was clearly having an effect on both sides as the mistakes continued to come. And it was the same for the goal-kickers too, with Coleman suffering the same fate as Foley as he pulled a penalty wide with 15 minutes to play.

Israel Folau was unable to work his usual magic in the face of some outstanding defence © Getty Images

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But it wouldn't matter as a juggling act from Stormers skipper Juan de Jongh put de Allende over for his second try of the night. Just as the Waratahs looked to be building some continuity, de Jongh chanced his arm with an intercept; the centre tipping the ball up and regathering to put his midfield partner away for what looked like the match-winner. Coleman made no mistake with the conversion to take the visitors out to a 27-18 win with eight minutes to play.

And any doubt over the result was put to bed when the visitors picked up a deserved bonus-point try after defending for more than 20 phases. As had been the case throughout the 80 minutes, the Waratahs had little luck cracking the Stormers' line and when the mistake finally came, Stormers fullback Cheslin Kolbe swooped and sprinted 70 metres to ice a memorable away win.

Following a run of three frustrating defeats, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee was thrilled his side were able to turn the tables in Sydney.

"I'm very satisfied with the result," he said. "In all departments, it was a good performance from our side. We've been desperate this week to get things right."