At Ellis Park
It's probably a habit they'd like to shake off sooner than later, but for now, the Stormers are conjuring up victories in the URC when they can't claim to have exactly played their best rugby.
That was the dominant theme in their 31-22 victory here on Saturday over a burgeoning Lions combination that lost its roar after a sterling performance in the first half.
For at least the first 50 minutes of what was in many respects a pulsating derby, the Cape franchise were knocked off their stride by a home side that very evidently pitched up, but used the half-time break well as they regrouped and delivered some delightful attacking passages to overhaul a substantial deficit.
The Lions' marking was particularly compelling in the first 40, an imperfect but effective mixture of line-speed, intent and inaccuracy that, allied with a rather chaotic breakdown, saw them convert five penalties though the halfback pairing of Jordan Hendrikse and Sanele Nohamba.
It was a strangely subdued period for the defending champions, who at times really had to feed off scraps as the Lions, admirably, showed the type of game management that has been lacking for years in their play.
Indeed, the Stormers were only in the frame through a brilliant show of power by Angelo Davids, who, after the Stormers - almost out of nowhere - found familiar attacking momentum and space in an instant, backed himself well to overpower his defender when he had some way to go to the tryline.
Manie Libbok's sole penalty attempt also came from Hendrikse's avoidable yellow card for a reckless high tackle on Paul de Wet.
However, after conceding 19 points against Ulster two weeks ago with a man down, the Lions showed commendable spirit in eventually outscoring their opponents 6-3 in that 10-minute period.
That boost in confidence led to Andries Coetzee smartly slithering through a yawning gap, allowing Emmanuel Tshituka to make metres and produce a superb offload to an irrepressible Henco van Wyk, who showed physicality and determination to score a fine try.
Armed with a half-time lead of 22-10, the Lions should've gone for the kill.
Instead, the Stormers came out with vigour and, in a development that would please the Springbok staff, had their national players to thank for leading the way.
Libbok was the main protagonist, standing up brilliantly in the tight moments and delivering the deft chip over the top that allowed Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to profit off a horrible bounce for Francke Horn.
Evan Roos, culpable for lacking intent on defence with the Lions try, revelled as the Stormers started to find space and was instrumental in the build-up to Clayton Blommetjies' score with a fine offload.
Meanwhile, the Lions were culpable of perhaps being too conservative once they started to struggle in the territorial stakes, kicking possession away too easily when a few more carries might've gotten them out of their own half.
And for a championship-pedigreed team like the Stormers, that's absolute fodder, exemplified by a powerful maul spearheaded by Nama Xaba for the clinching score.
Point scorers:
Lions - 22 (22)
Try: Henco van Wyk
Conversion: Jordan Hendrikse
Penalties: Hendrikse (3), Sanele Nohamba (2)
Stormers - 31 (10)
Tries: Angelo Davids, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Clayton Blommetjies, Nama Xaba
Conversions: Manie Libbok (4)
Penalty: Libbok