Stormers v Melbourne Rebels - Live

full-time Stormers 26 Rebels 21

80 From a line-out the ball comes to Fourie, who boots the ball into touch. It secures them a deserved win and the top spot on the overall conference table! The hosts' fans will be happy with the win but it was too close for comfort. The Rebels put in a good performance and certainly hold their heads high. The Stormers will take a lot from this result and hope it helps them in the semi-finals in two weeks time.

78 The Rebels are not going down without a fight! They are camped inside the Stormers' 22 but at a critical moment Owen knocks on a pass from Stirzaker! How costly will that be?

76 PENALTY, STORMERS, GRANT! 26-21. Grant adds the extras to put some more daylight between his side and their opponents.

75 Referee Louwrens van der Merwe consults his TMO for the second time in the match when the Stormers captain, Jean de Villiers, goes over the try-line. The TMO rules that it's inconclusive whether the try was scored. The referee awards the Stormers a penalty after Jono Owen was pinned for an infringement in the build-up.

73 The Stormers want to extend their lead and they are soon close to the Rebels' try-line. De Jongh is stopped just short of the line to deny him his hat-trick!

71 CONVERSION, REBELS, HUXLEY! 23-21. Huxley narrows the gap to two points with a well-taken spot-kick!

70 TRY, REBELS, VUNA! 23-19. Nic Stirzaker makes a telling break through the heart of the Stormers defence before passing to James Hilgenforf, who draws a defender, before offloading to Cooper Vuna who scores under the posts!

69 Cooper Vuna is on the field and immediately makes his presence felt when he shrugs off two defenders in a powerful run down the touchline.

68 The Rebels attack close to the Stormers' try-line but at the crucial moment Mark Gerrard knocks on an the home side gets out of jail.

66 Fourie makes a break and races away! He is soon on the edge of the Rebels' 22 but is brought to ground by Nic Stirzaker.

64 Aplon is penalised for a late shoulder charge on Huxley and the Rebels opt to kick for touch. Huxley puts the ball out 10 metres from the Stormers' try-line.

62 The Stormers take the ball through eight phases and are soon inside the Rebels' half. Aplon, De Jongh and Fourie carry the ball strongly but they soon lose possession when De Villiers knocks on.

60 Huxley does well when he puts in a clearance kick which sails into touch close to the Stormers' 10 metre line.

58 CONVERSION, STORMERS, GRANT! 23-14. Grant steps up and adds the extra two points to extend his side's lead!

57 TRY, STORMERS, DE JONGH! 21-14. De Jongh gets his second try when he runs onto a pass from Grant close to the Rebels try-line and beats Huxley with a deft side-step before scoring under the posts!

55 CONVERSION, REBELS, HUXLEY! 16-14. Huxley adds another conversion and there's just two points in this match now!

54 TRY, REBELS, PHIPPS! 16-12. Nick Phipps pounces on a ball which Jono Owen knocks backwards and dots down from close quarters!

52 CONVERSION, REBELS, HUXLEY! 16-7. Huxley makes no mistake with his spot-kick to narrow the gap!

51 TRY, REBELS, BLAKE! 16-5. The Rebels forwards have a crack at the Stormers' try-line and Rodney Blake crashes over under a mass of bodies! After consultation with the TMO, the referee awards the try.

48 Deon Fourie is penalised for entering a ruck from the side deep inside the Stormers' 22 and Mortlock tells Huxley to kick for touch.

46 Julian Huxley throws a long pass which puts Lachlan Mitchell in the clear down the touchline. He is brought to ground inside the Stormers' 22 by a text-book tackle from De Villiers.

45 Mitch Inman proves a handful for the Stormers defence when takes a crash-ball and gains valuable metres for the Rebels.

43 The Rebels do well to take the ball thorugh several phases but they soon lose possession when Deon Fourie wins a turnover inside his own half.

40 Julian Huxley gets the second half started. Jean de Villiers gathers and immediately takes the ball into contact.

Half-time Stormers 16 Rebels 0

40 PENALTY, STORMERS, GRANT! 16-0. Grant adds the extras to give his team a handy lead at the break. Despite a fine start, the Stormers have struggled to kick on and dominate this match and that last penalty was their first points since the 15th minute. The Rebels have done well to frustrate the home side and have had most of the possession during the latter stages of the half.

40 From a scrum just inside the Rebels' half, the Stormers go on the attack but they are kept in check by the visitors' defenders. The host are awarded a penalty when the Rebels go offside.

36 The Rebels are soon on the edge of the Stormers' 22 but make little headway when Hilgendorf puts in a grubber kick which Pietersen fields and puts into touch.

33 The Stormers are awarded a penalty after Hugh Pyle infringes at a maul. Pietersen kicks for touch but fails to get the ball out.

31 The Rebels are camped close to the Stormers' try-line but the hosts' defence does well to keep them out.

28 Julian Huxley puts through a grubber kick which rolls over the try-line. He gives chase but Joe Pietersen gets to the ball first and dots down to save the situation for his side.

25 From a scrum inside the Stormers' 22, the Rebels go on the attack but it comes to nothing when Jono Owen is pinned for holding onto the ball on the ground.

22 There's some concern as Aplon stays down after taking an accidental knock to his head from Rynardt Elstadt. After some medical attention the Springbok speedster is soon up and running, however.

20 The Rebels launch another attack inside the Stormers' 22 but Siya Kolisi comes to the fore with two big hits on Hugh Perrett and Paul Alo-Emile.

18 The Rebels are on the attack inside the Stormers' 22 for the first time in the match but Stirling Mortlock knocks on at a critical stage and the home side gains a reprieve.

15 CONVERSION, STORMERS, GRANT! 13-0. Grant adds the extra two points to extend the hosts' lead.

14 TRY, STORMERS, DE JONGH! 11-0. Juan de Jongh gets the ball on the edge of the Rebels' 22 and beats two defenders before scoring under the posts!

13 Bryan Habana has a go a the line but is tackled by Rodney Blake. Habana gets up and dives over but is penalised for a double movement.

12 The Stormers launch an attack fro mdeep inside their half and are soon inside the Rebels' 22. Juan de Jongh and Andries Bekker are prominent and they are soon hammering away at the Rebels' try-line!

10 The Rebels win scrappy ball at a line-out and are immediately on the back-foot when Nick Phipps is caught in possession by Andries Bekker.

8 PENALTY, STORMERS, GRANT! 6-0. Grant adds the extras after Jono Owen is pinned for going off his feet at a ruck.

6 James Hilgendorf tries to relieve pressure for the Rebels with a clearance kick which sails into touch on the halfway mark. His effort is ruled to have gone directly into touch as he was just outside his 22.

4 The Stormers try to attack with their backs but the ball reaches Gio Aplon on the wing he is bundled into touch by Mitch Inman.

3 PENALTY, STORMERS, GRANT! 3-0. Peter Grant opens the scoring after the visitors are pinned for being offside.

2 From the line-out the Stormers go on the drive close to the Rebels' try-line but the visitors do well to stop them at the advantage line.

Kick-off Peter Grant gets us underway! His kick is gathered by Julian Huxley who is tackled just outside his own 22 by several Stormers forwards. Huxley holds onto the ball on the ground and Grant soon puts it out inside the Rebels' 22.

Team News Late team news from the Rebels camp is that Lachlan Mitchell will start on the left wing and not Cooper Vuna.

Team News Former Wallaby prop Rodney Blake returns to the Rebels front row in place of Nic Henderson on the loosehead side while in the second row Hugh Pyle swaps places with Al Campbell, who drops to the bench for his final fixture for the franchise. In the only other potential change to the starting XV, Lachlan Mitchell has been bracketed with Cooper Vuna on the left wing.

Team News The big news for the Stormers is that regular hooker Deon Fourie will be packing down at number eight for this clash. There is one personnel and one positional switch to the side that beat the Cheetahs last week as Tian Liebenberg comes in for Jebb Sinclair, with Fourie making that aforementioned move to 8. On the bench, Brok Harris returns in jersey 16, after missing one game with a broken nose.

Welcome Hello and welcome to Newlands Stadium in Cape Town for this Super Rugby hit-out between the home side, the Stormers, and the Melbourne Rebels. This is the final round-robin match for both sides but the Stormers have plenty to play for as a win will elevate them to the top of the table. We'll be back shortly with team news!

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