Stormers dealt hammer home playoff race blow as Ospreys stun ...

The Stormers’ chances of claiming a home URC playoff match were dealt a blow on Saturday as the Ospreys claimed a 27-21 victory in Cape Town.

The inaugural URC champions produced an underwhelming performance and trailed the Welsh region 17-7 at half-time, with Toby Booth’s charges dominating proceedings.

Luke Morgan (2), Sam Parry, and Harri Deaves all crossed the whitewash for the visitors, with Jack Walsh adding two conversions and a penalty.

Dan du Plessis and Evan Roos scored stunning tries for the Stormers, and Manie Libbok converted both scores, but it was not enough to see them to victory.

A penalty try in the last play of the game did earn them a losing bonus-point, however, which crucially kept the Stormers ahead of the Welsh outfit on the log.

The Ospreys rocked their opponents by taking a ninth-minute lead when Dan Edwards kicked cleverly into space behind Stormers’ defence, and Morgan finished impressively.

Edwards’ conversion attempt drifted narrowly wide but the visitors’ impressive opening was quickly overtaken by a stunning Stormers try that was started and finished by Du Plessis, with telling contributions from Wandisile Simelane and Nama Xaba.

Libbok converted, but the Ospreys continued to relish the challenge ahead of them and went back in front after 26 minutes when Parry went over from close range following sustained pressure. It was an impressive response by Toby Booth’s team, and they scored a third try on the stroke of half-time.

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Libbok’s cross-field kick was caught by Walsh, who burst clear of Stormers defenders before sending Morgan over for his second try and then converting for a 17-7 interval lead.

The Stormers needed to find a quick response, and it arrived just five minutes into the second half as they conjured a score from deep inside their own 22.

Full-back Warrick Gelant started the move, then Simelane and Libbok combined to devastating effect in midfield, and Roos finished majestically, with Libbok’s conversion making it a three-point game.

Once again, though, the Ospreys moved up a gear just when it looked as if their opponents might take charge.

Another spell of possession deep inside Stormers’ territory reaped its reward through a try for Deaves that Walsh converted, and Ospreys led 24-14 with just 15 minutes left.

The Stormers inevitably threw everything at their opponents during the final moments but they could find no way through, with the 80th-minute penalty try providing nothing more than a losing bonus-point consolation, and Ospreys closed things out amid jubilant scenes in their camp.

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Frans Malherbe (c), 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Damian Willemse

Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Keiran Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris (c), 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 Huw Sutton, 4 Victor Sekekete, 3 Rhys Henry, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Evardi Boshoff

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19:15 local (18:15 BST)
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Cwengile Jadzweni (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)
TMO: Chris Busby (IRFU)

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