PERTH: The Stormers made light of miserable conditions to rout Western Force 17-3 in their Super rugby match in Perth on Saturday and finish their tour of Australia and New Zealand on a high. Bryan Habana and Peter Grant each scored tries in driving rain at NIB stadium as the visitors handled the wet far better than the hosts, who fumbled the ball incessantly and were kept scoreless for the last 63 minutes. The Cape Town-based Stormers return home with an imperious 8-1 record after winning three out of four of their tour matches. The Force, who dumped their coach Richard Graham last week after he announced he was quitting the club to join the champion Queensland Reds next year, slumped to their seventh loss of the season and are all but out of the playoff race. “I don’t think you can fault our effort, I think we just need to be a little bit more creative in attack,” Force skipper David Pocock said in a pitchside interview. “They’re the best in the competition and it showed.” Force notched their lone penalty goal in the 17th minute to break a prolonged stalemate but gave up the advantage in galling fashion four minutes later. Flyhalf David Harvey’s pass was intercepted by a swooping Habana, who cantered 50 meters to cross beneath the posts. Harvey later shanked a penalty kick a couple of minutes before halftime to allow the Stormers to take a 7-3 lead to the break. Grant extended the lead to 10-3 with a penalty a few minutes into the second half followed by a try in the 49th minute, the flyhalf ghosting through a gap out wide after a sustained assault on the Force try-line. Despite the effects of a long tour, the Stormers defense remained bullet-proof as they protected their lead for the last half-hour to maintain their edge over the Bulls in the South African conference.
Stormers pound Force 17-3 in rainy Perth
