Ruhan Nel of the DHL Stormers celebrates after he dots down the winning try during the Super Rugby match, The Lions v Stormers at Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg South Africa on 15 February 2020
Photo: ©Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix
The Super Rugby stats tables feature a few South African faces after Round 3. Here’s how things stack up after the weekend’s action.
Ruhan Nel of the DHL Stormers celebrates after he dots down the winning try during the Super Rugby match, The Lions v Stormers at Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg South Africa on 15 February 2020
Photo: ©Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix
Ruhan Nel scored a post-hooter try as the Stormers snatched a 33-30 victory at the Lions on Saturday after a Super Rugby thriller.
The score stemmed from a scrum on the halfway line, which the Cape Town outfit won before patiently building momentum using the width of the Ellis Park pitch in Johannesburg.
As the Stormers approached the Lions tryline, the ball was swiftly moved to the right and wing Sergeal Petersen made the pass that sent Nel over close to the posts.
Substitute fly-half Jean-Luc du Plessis converted and the Stormers maintained a perfect start to the season with three wins, although they dropped one place to second in the overall table.
The Waikato Chiefs and the Stormers have 13 points each with the Warren Gatland-coached New Zealanders occupying first place on points difference.
It was a bitter climax for the Lions before their supporters in 30 degrees celsius (86 fahrenheit) heat after turning an 11-point deficit on 67 minutes into a 30-26 lead.
A seesaw first half ended with the Stormers 18-15 ahead and Petersen scored a try 40 seconds into the second half to stretch the advantage.
In the end, one penalty separated the teams with both scoring four tries and kicking two conversions while the Stormers slotted three penalties and the Lions two.
You can get all the latest Super Rugby fixtures and results for the 2020 season here.
Player | Team | Points |
Domingo Miotti | Jaguares | 42 |
Curwin Bosch | Sharks | 30 |
David Havili | Crusaders | 28 |
Damian Willemse | Stormers | 26 |
Elton Jantjies | Lions | 25 |
Jordie Barrett | Hurricanes | 25 |
Folau Fainga’a | Brumbies | 25 |
Player | Team | Tries |
Folau Fainga’a | Brumbies | 5 |
Julian Montoya | Jaguares | 3 |
Mark Telea | Blues | 3 |
Mark Nawaqanitawase | Waratahs | 3 |
Solomon Alaimalo | Chiefs | 3 |
Andrew Kellaway | Rebels | 3 |
South Africa
Team | P | W | D | L | +/- | Points |
Stormers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 13 |
Jaguares | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 10 |
Sharks | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 8 |
Lions | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -26 | 5 |
Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -21 | 0 |
Australia
Team | P | W | D | L | +/- | Points |
Brumbies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 9 |
Rebels | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -8 | 4 |
Sunwolves | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -17 | 4 |
Reds | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -10 | 2 |
Waratahs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -52 | 0 |
New Zealand
Team | P | W | D | L | +/- | Points |
Chiefs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 13 |
Crusaders | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 9 |
Hurricanes | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 8 |
Blues | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 5 |
Highlanders | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -21 | 4 |
Additional reporting by AFP.