Cape Town - They dominated territory and possession, but the Stormers still couldn't get the job done against the Blues in a Super Rugby clash in Auckland on Saturday.
AS IT HAPPENED: Blues 24-9 Stormers
In what was an intriguing match that was a lot more open than the scoreboard suggests, the Blues emerged as 24-9 winners.
The hosts scored a try in first half through Tanielu Tele'a and two in the second through Otere Black and Rieko Ioane, while all the Stormers had to show for their dominance were three penalties from flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis.
There were some massive performances from the likes of Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, but the Stormers just couldn't finish off any of the opportunities they created.
The Stormers played the last 10 minutes of the match against 14 men after Blues right wing Tele'a was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Dillyn Leyds.
Even then, the Stormers could not score.
It is the second loss in as many weeks for the Stormers on their Australasian tour, and they now turn their attention to next weekend's clash against the Reds in Brisbane.
They remain 3rd in the South African Conference.
Scorers:
Blues
Tries: Tanielu Tele'a, Oteri Black, Rieko Ioane
Conversions: Black (3)
Penalty: Black
Stormers
Penalties: Jean-Luc du Plessis
Teams:
Blues
15 Melani Nanai, 14 Tanielu Tele’a, 13 TJ Faiane, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Otere Black, 9 Jonathan Ruru, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Tom Robinson, 5 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 3 Sione Mafileo, 2 James Parsons, 1 Alex Hodgman
Substitutes: 16 Matt Moulds, 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 Scott Scrafton, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Augustine Pulu, 22 Harry Plummer, 23 Sonny Bill Williams
Stormers
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Joshua Stander, 23 SP Marais
