FLANKER JOHAN DU Toit got the benefit of a difference of opinion between Super Rugby officials this afternoon after a dangerous tackle took scrum-half Louis Schreuder out in the air.
The Sharks 9 had to be stretchered off after the nasty landing appeared to knock him out.
Reviewing the collision TMO Willie Vos advised a red card for the incident straight from the kick-off, but referee AJ Jacobs decided to award a yellow card 12 seconds into the match.
Du Toit, younger brother of world player of the year Pieter-Steph, returned to help the Stormers in a tight contest. They took a 13-14 lead with just under 20 minutes to go in Durban, but the boot of Curwin Bosch guided the Sharks back into control before Makazole Mapimpi crossed to seal a deserved 24-14 win.
Earlier this morning, Brad Thorn’s Queensland Reds battled back from an early 17-point deficit to beat the Bulls 41-17.
Rosko Specman was in sensational form for the South African side as they scorched to an early lead, but the hosts found a superb rhythm through high-paced offloading attack and forced six tries without response to seal the win.
Toulon are a shadow of themselves this season. . Chickens coming home to roost it would seem. . Hopefully the same happens at Saracens soon but this year I feel they are head and shoulders above the rest and likely wont be stopped from retaining the BT cup.
The smart money is on Wasps this year! Sure they have bloody well spent enough to win it.
Fair play to Peter Stringer for playing the match , a true gentleman and professional.However it was a poor match. Toulon don’t play as well as they used to , that’s for sure. They should’ve blown Sale out of the water. There was some good performances from Halfpenny, Gorgodze and Vermeulen.
Vermeulen was superb at the breakdown winning 3 key turnovers and working hard clearing out conceding no turnovers and gave a very physical performance up front despite a stupid yellow card. The Springboks in November will need him at his world class form. Wales will also be happy to see a fit Halfpenny for the internationals . Gorgodze gave his standard physical carries and metres helping Ollivon score his 5th try of the season which is great for a blindside and should be expecting that French call up soon.
Please can we have anyone but Toulon or Sarries win it this year?
Shocking match.