Super Rugby: Hooper wins it for Waratahs after Zas red card
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 30/04/16 9:33pm
The Waratahs beat the Stormers 32-30 after Stormers winger Leolin Zas was shown a red card in the 56th minute.
Zas' controversial red - shown for a clumsy mid-air collision with Wallaby fly-half Bernard Foley - came when the Stormers were 20-18 ahead. The South Africans were then 30-25 to the good with two minutes remaining when flanker Michael Hooper burrowed over the line to clinch a heated game at Newlands.
The Stormers started the game the more dominant of the two sides, but fly-half Jean-Luc du Plessis sent two penalties wide of the poles to keep the match scoreless in the opening period.
It was Waratahs who scored first, with Kurtley Beale crossing after Foley dummied and broke the line before popping to his Wallaby team-mate.
But Stormers hit back in the 15th minute, winning a penalty that scrum-half Nic Groom took quickly. The ball was recycled through several phases in front of the Waratahs line before Groom shaped to send the ball wide then flicked a pass inside to Schalk Burger who crashed over from short range.
The easy conversion handed Stormers the lead, and though Foley had the chance to put his side ahead at the close of the first quarter, he sent the effort left.
The home side furthered their lead when Pieter-Stef du Toit muscled his way over from the base of a ruck after some impressive footwork from full-back Cheslin Kolbe in the build-up.
Waratahs were next to score, with the ball popped to Israel Folau who ran a superb line at pace to race clear for a try shortly before half-time. The successful conversion from Foley meant the Stormers were 14-12 ahead at the break.
Du Plessis opened the scoring in the second half from the kicking tee but his effort was cancelled out by an effort from Foley in the 49th minute.
The two traded further penalties before controversy struck as a high ball went up and Foley positioned himself underneath it.
Foley jumped to catch the ball and Zas clattered into him, causing Foley to land awkwardly. The referee asked the TMO to take a look, and though Zas appeared to slip which caused him to make such clumsy contact, the referee said the resulting fall was worthy of a red card.
Foley missed a shot at goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Du Plessis made no such mistake when he lined up an attempt of his own after 63 minutes.
The Australians hit back with a try, with Rob Horne taking an inside ball to round the defence and make it 25-23 to the Waratahs late in the game.
It looked like a tough road for the Stormers to fight back, but second rower Du Toit showed the way when he burst through the Waratahs defence to dive in under the uprights. The conversion from Du Plessis gave the Stormers a five-point lead with six minutes remaining.
The Waratahs were then hot on attack in the closing stages of the game, but a knock-on ended the threat. However the visiting scrum pushed their counterparts off the ball to reclaim it, and launched one final attack. The ball was sent through the phases and the tiring Stormers defence was unable to recover in time as Hooper grabbed the ball from the base of a ruck and managed to place it on the line for a 32-30 win to the visitors.
