KEY POINTS:
Stormers 21 Chiefs 16
The Chiefs remained winless in the Super 14 rugby competition after they were today beaten 21-16 by the Stormers in Cape Town.
As in their previous two games, the Chiefs had adequate possession and stole the ball off the opposition enough times to
win.
Inaccuracy at vital moments and an obsession to attack from deep inside their own side of the field cost them.
Twice they tried to counter-attack from close to their own line and both times they lost the ball.
On the first occasion it cost them a try. On the second Schalk Brits went over the line in a melee but a try was inconclusive.
The Stormers' winning points came in the 56th minute when the Chiefs were leading 16-14.
A backline attack from the Chiefs came unstuck when Stormers midfielder Jean de Villiers intercepted a pass and raced 65m to score.
Stormer first five-eighth Peter Grant, who had kicked three first-half penalties, added the conversion for a five-point victory, their first in the competition this season.
Grant had given his team a seventh minute lead with his first penalty.
His Chiefs counterpart Stephen Donald equalised with a penalty three minutes later.
Grant swung the lead back with his second penalty before Chiefs fullback Dwayne Sweeney scored the first try of the match and Donald converted it.
Sweeney finished off a fine backline attack, with second five eighth Niva Ta'auso providing the decisive bust in midfield.
Grant added a third penalty, then the Stormers regained the lead when right winger Breyton Paulse scored after the Chiefs stole a lineout but surrendered possession while trying to attack from inside their own 22.
The Stormers backline quickly stretched the defence on the right and Paulse was put clear by de Villiers with a long pass.
Though Donald kicked another penalty the Chiefs went to the break trailing 13-14.
They managed to hold on in the 10 minutes around halftime when lock Toby Lynn was in the sinbin for stomping but managed to build a momentum to dominate the rest of the game.
The Chiefs, who aimed to be more accurate than their previous two games, didn't help themselves by trying to push the 50-50 passing chances.
Chiefs coach Ian Foster spoke of his frustrations again at the team's inability to finish off good buildup work.
"With us missing so much experience and lacking some of those gamebreakers we just have to take more pride in our accuracy and maintaining that ball," he told NZPA.
"It's frustrating. We feel like we we're doing enough but not putting away the chances.
"The large part of our game is there, we're doing good work and creating those opportunities but we're not clinical enough at the finish."
The Chiefs have a horrendous injury list, with All Blacks Keith Robinson, Sione Lauaki and Jono Gibbes out in the forwards and Soseni Anesi and Richard Kahui in the backs.
Stormers captain Luke Watson said his team were "lucky to come on top today".
"They, like any New Zealand team in this competition, are very difficult to put away and that intercept try proved the winner," he said.
"It's our first win this season, we're over the moon to get out of the (losing) hole and we're a bit fortunate today because they didn't have a few of their All Blacks in the pack.
"These New Zealand teams are just hard, they keep coming at you or they keep bashing you all over the park and that happened again today.
"But we had the measure of them most of the time and we'll take that and enjoy it this week."
Stormers 21 (Breyton Paulse, Jean de Villiers tries, Peter Grant 3 pen, con), Chiefs 16 (Dwayne Sweeney try, Stephen Donald 3 pen, con). Halftime 14-13.
- NZPA
