Stormers edge out Bulls

Peter Grant: Stormers stand-off held nerve with decisive penalty

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A late penalty from Peter Grant saw the Stormers sneak a 20-17 win over rivals the Bulls and maintain their 100 per cent record in this season's Super Rugby.

The visitors outscored their opponents by two tries to one, but 12 points from Joe Pietersen coupled with Grant's late kick allowed the Stormers to hold off a valiant fightback.

The win extends their lead over the Bulls at the top of the conference table to four points.

Pietersen slotted a 12th-minute penalty to give the Stormers the lead, which he then extended with another successful kick from 45 metres after 26 minutes.

Bulls fly-half Morne Steyn missed the chance to get the visitors on the board when he pushed a penalty wide, preserving the Stormers 6-0 advantage.

And that became 9-0 when Pietersen kicked his third penalty of the night, this time from 40 metres out.

The Stormers were firmly in control and Tiaan Liebenberg scored the first try of the match a minute before the interval, dotting down in the corner.

Comeback

However, the Bulls began to show signs of life after the restart and within five minutes had a try of their own, with Bjorn Basson gathering a kick from Zane Kirchner before racing over the line.

Steyn was successful with the conversion and then added a penalty as the visitors reduced the deficit to 14-10 after 50 minutes.

Pietersen responded with a penalty directly in front of the posts to give the Stormers some breathing space, but the Bulls continued to make a fight of it and Wynand Olivier's break resulted in another try.

Steyn's successful conversion brought the scores level at 17-17, but Grant then banged over a penalty four minutes from time after an illegal scrum to give the Stormers the edge.