Tonight’s game at Newlands kicks off at 7pm.
Stormers : 15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Kobus van Wyk, 13. Johnny Kotze, 12. Juan de Jongh (Captain), 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Jean-Luc Du Plessis, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Schalk Burger, 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Sikhumbuszo Notshe, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. JD Schickerling, 3. Vincent Koch, 2. Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1. Oliver Kebble
Replacements: 16. Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17. JC Janse van Rensburg, 18. Frans Malherbe, 19. Jan de Klerk, 20. Nizaam Carr, 21. Godlen Masimla, 22. Huw Jones, 23. Damian de Allende
Sunwolves: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Viliami Lolohea, 13 Mifiposeti Paea, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Akihito Yamada, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yuki Yatomi, 8 TomΓ‘s Leonardi, 7 Ed Quirk, 6 Liaki Moli, 5 Timothy Bond, 4 Shinya Makabe, 3 Takuma Asahara, 2 Shota Horie (captain), 1 Masataka Mikami
Replacements: 16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Ziun Gu, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Yoshiya Hosoda, 20 Andrew Durutalo, 21 Atushi Hiwasa, 22 Harumichi Tatekawa, 23 Yasutaka Sasakura.

Another scare for the clear favourites? Seems to have been the flavour of the day…
@pastorshark (Comment 1) : one can only hope!
Approaching kick off…
Stormers scrum should be too strong.
@pastorshark (Comment 3) : @50shadesofshark (Comment 4) : wonder if it’s worth watching! Not sure I can take the commentators swooning about how wonderful the Stormer are!
And off we go…
A shocking wobbly forward pass by de Jongh…
@pastorshark (Comment 7) : Ah, it hit the finger tips of the no. 13…my apologies to de Jongh…
The Stormers scrum immediately crunches the Sunwolves…somehow they retain possession though…
@JD (Comment 5) : Kotze breaks..but is tackled…should have passed…van Wyk was away…
Good skip pass and then clearing at the ruck from stormers no10 du plessis.
Oh look, Schalk at flyhalf…there is something I haven’t seen before…
Burger at 10 twice in a row…who said the Stormers had flyhalf concerns?!
Du Plessis has looked good…good passes, lovely chip, good clean out. Nice…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 11) : Yup, he’s had a nice start there…
Had jl dup down at the sharks.early touches and workrate by cleaning out at 2 rucks,suggest one the sharks should have perhaps tried to invest more gametime in?
Penalty to Stormers and du Plessis nails it. 3-0 after 6 minutes…
@pastorshark (Comment 13) : hahaha nice one ja no concerns at all!
@pastorshark (Comment 13) : he is their as a dummy runner at no10.creating space and time for jl dup.
Viljoen knocks the high ball…and then Stormers knock…so scrum to the Stormers…
@JD (Comment 5) :
They must lie on national TV? π
Huge Stormers scrum again…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 19) : I’m being fascetious…
Koch over the tryline but can’t get it down…penalty Stormers…
@pastorshark (Comment 23) : Though he really does actually take the ball at 10 far more than he acts as a dummy there…
Notshe scores! Powerful stuff from the Stormers…
The conversion makes it 10-0 after 11 minutes…
Nice play by the Sunwolves as they make a lot of ground…in the end they lose it forward on the 22…
Jl dup seems to have a bit of a left boot on him.
Sunwolves can’t take the high ball and Stormers attack again.
Kotze with a break again…but again doesn’t pass…
Penalty Stormers…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 29) : Definitely…
Good pick-up by jl dup.impressing early on.
Another penalty Stormers as the Sunwolves stop the maul illegally…
Team warning for the Sunwolves…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 34) : Yeah, good so far…
Another wonderful pass by du Plessis and van Wyk is in…
Really good pass from jl dup.imo the sharks missed one.
Looking good so far, some good intent to run, and managing to get the running game right at times.
Young Du Plessis looks very good so far, lots of confidence and vision.
Pa se kind
That conversion is pushed way wide but it is 15-0 after 18 minutes…
This could get ugly…
A bit of argy bargy here…
Enterprise by the Sunwolves but a forward pass brings it to a halt…
Kotze just never seems to pass…
Another penalty Stormers…
Kicked into the corner…
Ntubeni in for the try…
That try seemed a bit too easy.
Nice set move by the Stormers there…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 49) : It is a lovely game to make your debut in…no pressure at all from from the Sunwolves in any aspect of the game…
Seemed easy!but was very well thought-out and executed.excellent try from the kick-off.
Great try from the kickoff for the Stormers…huge break by Kolbe and he puts de Jongh away…
Wow, I’m liking this.
Nice handoff by de Jongh…
@pastorshark (Comment 51) : true.
Now thats a dummy … skalk passed
27-0 after 26 minutes…
Sunwolves have some possession..
Nice play by the Sunwolves…they can’t score but get a penalty…
@pastorshark (Comment 58) : OK so we’re heading for 80-0!
The Sunwolves kick for the corner…they are going to have a go…
Oh dear…their 10 has kicked it out touch in goal… π
@JD (Comment 61) : Yup…
Great run and great try by Viljoen for the Sunwolves…
@pastorshark (Comment 51) : does tick a few boxes as no10: distance on kicks,good pass,work rate,gets involved on defence.
Very good stuff from the Sunwolves there…well done by their no. 14…
Poor defence by Kolbe…hmm…
Super try sunwolves.
The conversion is poor and it is 27-5 after 30 minutes…
Good regather by the Stormers off the kickoff…
Viljoen has been impressive for the sunwolves all season.
@50shadesofshark (Comment 66) : Absolutely…I’m impressed…
When he’s at scrummie Kotze passes…but Schreuder drops a sitter…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 72) : He has been good…
The Stormers are kicking for posts… π― what is that all about?
@50shadesofshark (Comment 72) : he’s a really good player but for some reason he just could not find his grove at the Sharks! Glad to see him perform!
Du Plessis misses the penalty…why did they go for posts there?
Viljoen has a big boot π
Kebble off…
Poor throw and general stuff up by the Stormers at the lineout…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 79) : Jeepers, yes…
27-5 after 35 minutes…
Another great run by the Sunwolves…this time Kolbe defends well…
@JD (Comment 77) : As with PSdT, it would always have been difficult for the Sharks to keep him…
@JD (Comment 77) : feels like ages ago that he played for the sharks.rated him.big boot,50m drop goals,speed,and a side-step.
Viljoen does very well on defence there…well played…
Sunwolves get a penalty…
More good play by the Sunwolves and they attack hard!
27-5 halftime.
They can’t finish off their good play and the Stormers get a penalty at the breakdown…and that is the half…
27-5 at halftime…
If the Stormers were the Sharks I would be liking what I’m seeing…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 86) : yes it does. Strange to see him playing for a Japanese side against our teams!
@pastorshark (Comment 85) : ja let’s rather change the topic! Wonderful rain we received the last couple of days.
@JD (Comment 95) : Just lovely…
@JD (Comment 94) : And his family in the crowd with Sunwolves merchandise on…
@pastorshark (Comment 97) : well they must support him!
The second half is underway…
Sunwolves get a defensive penalty…
And a second defensive penalty…
When they have the ball, the Sunwolves do some really good stuff…
@pastorshark (Comment 102) : yes.
@JD (Comment 98) : Sure…
@pastorshark (Comment 104) : It is just a bit strange…
Sunwolves kick it to the corner…
Boland running riot with the Sharks.
22-3 at the moment
Lovely try to the Sunwolves…
Nice try from sunwolbes no9.
The scrummie Yatomie is in…
@nortie (Comment 107) : Oh dear…where are you getting updates?
De Allende on…
27-12 after 46 minutes…
@pastorshark (Comment 111) :
SuperBru scores
@nortie (Comment 107) : ouch!
Stormers must catch a wake up.
Haven’t scored for a while and BP is gone at the moment.
Notshe scores again…
Scarra having quite a good game.
Very busy so far, and put in some nice runs
@nortie (Comment 118) :
Should add, Koch as well
@nortie (Comment 114) : Aha…
34-12…
Again a stupid quick tap from miles out
@nortie (Comment 118) : @nortie (Comment 119) : Yes…both have been good…
Schreuder in for the try…
Good run from stormers no9 and try.
41-12 after 55 minutes…
Boland 29-13 Sharks
No7 with a boot on stormers player at the ruck.
Some lovely running by the Sunwolves…15 phases so far…
One can’t help but wonder what the Sunwolves’ scrum would be like if they use a couple of Sumo wrestlers as props.
The Sunwolves kick the ball to the corner but then lose the ball at a very poor lineout!
@nortie (Comment 127) : final score?
@pastorshark (Comment 129) :
They look good with ball in hand when they get it right..well, ask Heyneke, he still has nightmares about it.
And they breached our defense too easily with their 2 tries
Stormers almost in on the counter but Zas just can’t control the bouncing ball with his foot…
Zas is quick.
@JD (Comment 132) :
No, they also started at 19:00, so same amount of time left as in this game
@nortie (Comment 130) : haha ja somehow I do think their technique could be problem.
@nortie (Comment 133) : Yup…
@50shadesofshark (Comment 135) : Very quick…
@nortie (Comment 136) : this whole competition sucks!
@JD (Comment 137) :
π me too, but boy, I’m guessing they won’t be going back anytime soon.
It’s like that movie with Keanu Reeves, the Replacements
@JD (Comment 140) :
Agree 100%
One can’t take the results too serious, but one also can’t ignore them completely.
It will either show the Province’s what depth they have, or what lack of depth they have.
@nortie (Comment 141) : personally I’d prefer a couple of NFL linebackers as they add some athletic abilities to all the power!
Viljoen in for his second try…
Another good try by viljoen.
@nortie (Comment 142) : for me it’s a bit of a worry as the Sharks seems to struggle with quality backup players!
@nortie (Comment 142) : At this stage though, some of the sides have hardly had a practice together. Take the Sharks…their coach has been busy with Varsity Shield until this week…and so have some of their players. Others just coming back from injury. Similar disruptive preparations for the Lions. So in a sense some of the small unions who have put all their preparations in for this have the advantage, particularly in the early stages…
If it stays like this I even get a margin point! π
I think Zas will be in touch…
@pastorshark (Comment 149) : And he is…
TMO looking at a late shoulder charge…
Oooooh…Kolbe thumped with the shoulder in the face by some Sunwolves dude…he will get carded—
Those kind of shoulder charges deserve the red card.
@50shadesofshark (Comment 153) : I think they’ll be looking for red…
He does get a red card…
Well done,ref!!deliberate action.
Wasn’t expecting red, maybe it looked much worse due to the difference in size between Kolbe and the lock.
From straight on he looked a bit unlucky because he did use his other arm…maybe yellow would have been the right call…
@pastorshark (Comment 154) : tmo said yellow,but ref said he wanted another view.
@nortie (Comment 157) : I think that was it…he used his left arm and then followed in with his right shoulder…Kolbe being so short made the area of contact bad…
@pastorshark (Comment 148) : same for me. I have Stormers by 17.
@50shadesofshark (Comment 159) : I saw that…
More argie bargie…
@pastorshark (Comment 147) :
The smaller unions have a huge advantage, they have been training for this since our teams started SR training.
I see the Falcons are leading the Pumas by 7-6 as well.
@50shadesofshark (Comment 156) : I don’t think that was so deliberate…the side view looks bad…but if you look at the front on view it certainly doesn’t look deliberate…
@nortie (Comment 164) : Definitely…
@JD (Comment 161) :
I went Stormers by 26 so hoping for one more try.
@pastorshark (Comment 158) : player had a look at kolbe,see the pass made,and carried on with the action.deliberate right shoulder to the face area.the arm he used in the tackle was just to keep player in position for the shoulder coming through.
@nortie (Comment 167) : That wouldn’t really make a difference to you…margin point either way…
But I’m sure they will score again..
@50shadesofshark (Comment 168) : I didn’t see it like that…just looked at it again in slow motion…I agree that it was deliberately late…I don’t see that he deliberately wanted to hold the oke in place with his left hand so that he could plant his right shoulder into his face…so for me, penalty, yellow card…
Wasted opportunities by the Stormers, undoing all the good work time and again.
Can afford to get away with it today, but it’s something they have to sort out, we won’t be playing the Wolves every week
Still 41-19 after 77 minutes…
@pastorshark (Comment 169) :
In my money pool my 26 is the highest, so I need to be more than 26 to pick up 2.5 or 2
Good maul by the Stormers…
Viljoen has been good tonight…good mark…
Great try du Plessis…
@pastorshark (Comment 171) : personally im glad with this sort of action taken against deliberate foul play.the game of rugby does not require this at any level of the game.so im happy to see a ref take the hard line,which should be the rule rather than the exception.
Lekker Carel Junior
Takes me back to Newlands in the 80’s
And I lose another margin point in the last minute of a game…sometimes I really dislike Superbru…
All skill by jl dup.
Du Plessis deserves the MOTM award…
@nortie (Comment 174) : Aha…
46-19 is the final score…
@nortie (Comment 179) : for sure!would like to see daniel dup get a run sometime,too.
Any latest score from the Sharks Boland game?
@nortie (Comment 179) : carel dup skillful running on the left wing and niel burger’s power runs on the right wing.
@pastorshark (Comment 184) : and there goes my margin point!!!
I guess that’s the SR trophy and Bok team wrapped up then π
@pastorshark (Comment 182) :
Also think so, although he started very well, and then had a long quiet spell, before exploding into action with that last try.
Goalkicking needs work, granted, most of the kicks was from angles, but I’m sure he would expect to convert more of them if he wants to stand out in this type of competition.
All in all I’m more than satisfied, was not going to be happy with anything except a BP win, so they delivered.
Now you guys need to knock the Lions confidence down another peg tomorrow so that when we go there next week we can take them down another notch
@pastorshark (Comment 186) : Lost 37 – 25
@FireTheLooser (Comment 189) : you know it!!!
In CC Falcons beat Pumas 12-9 and Boland beat Sharks by 29-13
motm goes to notshe.
Oh…Notshe is MOTM…he played well…but I thought du Plessis deserved it…
@nortie (Comment 193) : Pumas will be really disappointed by that!!
Notshe MoM?
Wasn’t expecting that, Schalk had a good game, PSdT had a good game, but Koch, Scarra and Jean Luc stood out for me
@FireTheLooser (Comment 191) : real pity! Just hope they can do better from next week!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 191) : 37-25…it’s a start…looks like the first 20 minutes crunched us!
@FireTheLooser (Comment 191) :
Ok, 37-25
Score I saw was 29-13
Sorry if I caused confusion
@nortie (Comment 197) : Agreed on all those calls…
@nortie (Comment 200) : No problem, we understand you streamers struggle with these things. π
@nortie (Comment 190) : We need to beat the Lions…big game for our conference…and then you need to beat the Lions and keep them far enough behind us… π
@FireTheLooser (Comment 202) :
Ha ha, we not used to scores higher than eleventy seven and one thousand.
We usually only count in threes.
@pastorshark (Comment 203) :
That’s the plan
Stormers missed 29 out of 124 tackles… π―
Stormers only had just over 40% territory… π―
@pastorshark (Comment 203) : yes Sharks must beat Lions tomorrow! It’s important to beat the other teams in our conference!
@JD (Comment 206) : Absolutely…
@nortie (Comment 204) : Well played sir π
Night night hope the Sharks can give the Lions a fright!!!
@JD (Comment 209) : too right! Hope you managed to sleep tight.