Stormers captain Schalk Burger was on the scoresheet as his side notched another pre-season success © Getty Images

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Tournaments/Tours: Super 14

Teams: Sharks | South Africa | Stormers

The Stormers maintained their impressive pre-season form with a 29-14 victory over the Sharks at Newlands on Friday night.

Captain Schalk Burger, hooker Tiaan Liebenberg and replacement winger Sireli Naqelevuki all scored tries as the hosts followed up their 54-12 demolition of the Western Force with another eye-catching performance. Centre Luzuko Vulindlu crossed for the Sharks' only try as they failed to bounce back from their 26-0 drubbing at the hands of the Force in midweek.

The Stormers notched the only try of a whistle-dominated first half with Burger getting on the end of a good break from Gio Aplon but they had to weather a yellow card for flanker Francis Louw. Fullback Joe Pietersen weighed in with three penalties in the opening period with Sharks scrum-half Rory Kockott keeping the visitors in touch with three of his own.

Vulindlu struck after the re-start to level the scores but the Stormers responded with Liebenberg crashing over although he had to wait for the referee Craig Joubert to consult a revolutionary in-goal TV monitor before the score was confirmed. Pietersen's conversion was followed by another penalty to give the Stormers a 10-point lead on the hour mark shortly after the Sharks' Jannie du Plessis had been sin-binned for negative play. Naqelevuki crossed four minutes from time to complete the scoring.

Burger was happy with his side's form but was frustrated by referee Joubert and his interpretation at the breakdown. "Tonight I thought it was pretty impossible to steal a ball," said Burger. "It takes a bit of adjusting. We used to get away with lying on the wrong side of the ruck. When you had your hands on the ball, you had the opportunity to steal it, but the new law saying you have to release the tackled player makes it more difficult."

His sentiments were echoed by Sharks coach John Plumtree. "I loved the intensity of the first half, it was much more physical [than the Force match],' he told Keo.co.za. "We made the Stormers react differently. But in the second, the ref killed it.

"We changed our habits according to what we were told, but he didn't. We clearly weren't allowed to counter-ruck. Hopefully the game doesn't become tiddlywinks in future. People don't come to see 35 penalties in 80 minutes. I hope the refs settle down soon."

Elsewhere in the pre-season action, the Waratahs scored a comprehensive 83-15 victory over the Fiji Warriors at Wade Park in Orange. The Tahs ran in a total of 13 tries with Peter Betham, Chris Alcock and Adam D'Arcy leading the way with two tries each. The Waratahs return to Sydney on Sunday with a short turnaround before their final trial against the Brumbies on Thursday.

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