Stormers bag comeback win

South Africa's Stormers ended the Highlanders' chase for a Super 14 play-off spot with an 18-11 victory in Dunedin.

The Highlanders went into the break with a 6-0 advantage with both defences dominating proceedings, but second-half scores from Sireli Naqelevuki and Peter Grant ultimately overwhelmed them.

Only Jason Shoemark and Fetu'u Vainikolo found holes to burst through for the home side, and both were swamped with covering tacklers ten metres later.

The Stormers worked some slightly better positions in attack but still resorted to the boot too often in promising positions, and also coughed up the ball three metres from the Highlanders line no less than four times in the match.

Field position

Grant had a chance to give his side the early lead but pushed his fifth minute penalty badly right, after his team's line-out had stolen ball and given good field position.

Matt Berquist made no such mess of the two goal opportunities he was given, as the Stormers tested the patience of referee Matt Goddard - excellent on the day - by continually going off their feet.

Otherwise the first half was rugged, tight and even. Both sides lost far too much line-out ball - three apiece by the end of the half - and neither gave away anything in defence. Only the goal-kicking separated the sides.

The second half stayed as rugged as the first, but opened up four minutes in when Naqelevuki blew off the cobwebs that have been restricting him all season and scored the opening try.

A grubber from the Highlanders on attack rebounded off a stray boot. Grant picked the ball up, offloaded to the big Fijian, who opened up those long legs and strode away from the cover to score.

Grant missed the conversion, handing the kicking duties to Willem de Waal, whose first kick five minutes later for a penalty after Alando Soakai had slipped his bind, gave his side the lead.

Stray missiles

The Highlanders responded with the move of the game when Israel Dagg, who had spent most of the match picking up stray missiles from the boots of De Waal and Grant and showing all manner of skills, came into the line, stepped Dylan Des Fountain, then sent a wonderful pass out wide to Ben Smith for the try.

Berquist couldn't convert, but the Highlanders had the lead back at 11-8.

Back came the visitors, with Naqelevuki and Grant making a break through the middle and earning an equalising penalty.

Control swung back to the Stormers, who spent six minutes camped in their opposition 22 running phase after phase before finally, having sucked in enough defenders, Conrad Jantjes sent a wide pass out to Grant for the winning score.

The Highlanders, asked to respond, found the Stormers defence impregnable as it has been most of the season. At one point, the Highlanders forwards ran 12 phases at the Stormers' pack's fringe but were smashed backwards every time.

The speed of organisation among the white-clad loose trio, centres and locks was magnificent.

The same could not have been said of the centres minutes later, when Jason Shoemark broke clean through, but back chased Andries Bekker and seized upon Shoemark's brief indecision to hammer the centre into the ground - the Highlanders' hopes of saving the game going with him.