Stormers tame Lions with 14 men

Western Stormers scored two tries with 14 men to defeat GoldenLions 18-3 at Newlands stadium in Cape Town Saturday and end a five-match Super15 losing streak.Right-wing Damian de Allende and flanker Nizaam Carr crossed the try-line for theCape Town-based franchise during the first half while hooker Deon Fourie was inthe sin bin.Showing a greater appetite for keeping the ball in hand than in previous games, theStormers built an 18-point first-half lead and restricted the Lions to just three pointsafter the break.The Stormers had a clear edge at the line-outs with Lions hookers Robbie Coetzeeand replacement Malcolm Marx guilty of numerous poor throws, especially to thetail.Success lifted the Stormers off the foot of the southern hemisphereinterprovincialchampionship table as they climbed to 10 points -- one more than compatriotsCentral Cheetahs.The Lions, whose No. 8 and captain Warren Whiteley was  a last-minute injurywithdrawal, suffered three consecutive losses for the first time this season andremain in mid-table.Fly-half Demetri Catrakilis put the Stormers ahead after three minutes with a penalty, but had to retire with a suspected broken nose soon after.Superb handling by the home side led to another penalty against the Lions andPeter Grant, who moved from full-back to replace Catrakilis, made no mistake. An off-the-ball charge on Lions prop Schalk van der Merwe led to Fourie being sinbinned midway through the half. But the hosts shrugged off the numerical disadvantage to score 12 unansweredpoints and establish an 18-point advantage.De Allende was first to cross the try-line after a quick tap penalty by captain andcentre Jean de Villiers caught the visitors napping.Carr struck five minutes later, diving over following slick handling after theStormers won a ruck close to the 22-metre line.Grant, whose second penalty attempt rebounded off the post, converted the secondtry and Stormers ran to the changing rooms satisfied with a dominant first-halfshow.They would have been particularly pleased at keeping the Lions scoreless for 40minutes after intense late first-half pressure from the Johannesburg outfit.Leading Super 15 points scorer and Lions fly-half Marnitz Boshoff atoned for anopening-half miss by slotting a penalty on 44 minutes.But Boshoff, who scored 29 points in a 34-10 home win over the Stormers twomonths ago, had to settle for just three points as he was replaced before the hour.Elton Jantjies took over as playmaker and there was also a change at scrum-halfwith Faf de Klerk coming on for Ross Cronje.The Lions pressed hard as the game entered the final quarter, but traditional solidStormers defending kept them out. Source: AFP