Blues 21 Stormers 33
Defeat always hurts, especially when much of the pain is self-inflicted.
The Stormers can't be faulted for their commitment, drive and vision but they know they were the recipients of some over-the-top largesse from the Blues.
The gifts just kept coming and as brave as the Blues were in their
desperate attempts to claw their way back into the game, they made too many mistakes, soft ones, that handed the game to the Stormers.
As a result, they now find themselves alongside the Hurricanes and Chiefs, drifting at sea, travelling in hope rather than expectation.
It didn't need to be so. The Blues had the right game-plan - it worked so well against the Bulls and worked in patches last night.
But patches aren't enough. The Stormers were never kept under the same sort of pressure as the Bulls. The vibe just wasn't there for the Blues and there was a palpable sense of them trying to force things.
Predictably, having lost to the Force last week, the Stormers needed to make amends and an early statement of defiance.
They managed that all too easily - their own form carrying them partly towards a 17-0 lead and the looseness of the Blues doing the rest.
The home side wanted to pick up where they had left off against the Bulls but made the age-old error of forgetting that their previous victory was built on blood and sweat and a rock solid foundation from the forwards.
The graft wasn't quite there. They lost the crucial metre at the breakdown where Andries Bekker, Schalk Burger and Duane Vermuelen were imperious.
There was a bit more to it than that.
The lineout had a bad night. The enormous frame of Bekker spooked them. At nearly 2.10m he sits like the Sky Tower in the middle of the lineout and the Blues tried too hard to avoid him.
The scrum creaked, too. That was maybe inevitable. There was no John Afoa, a late call-off, and no Tony Woodcock.
The inexperience jumped again when Charlie Faumuina had to leave after 10 minutes clutching his ribs, paving the way for the uncapped Mike Reid.
And without the solidity and the go-forward, the Stormers could rush on defence and pile the pressure on the Blues' backs to magic something.
There were times, thrilling passages when they managed just that. Isaia Toeava is in the form of his life and made a telling bust down the right to set up Joe Rokocoko for a try in the shadow of half-time.
Those two combined again immediately after Anton van Zyl had been allowed to canter 40 metres untouched after picking up a stray lineout tap mid way through the second half.
But those were the flashes and in between there was much endeavour and intention without the required execution or penetration.
Rene Ranger couldn't get into the game and the harder he tried, the more mistakes he made.
His ball retention was sloppy and on the cusp of half-time, after dropping the ball in his 22 when he banged it out of his own hands with his knee, he booted it away in frustration.
It so nearly sat up in the in-goal area for Bryan Habana which would have been catastrophic. That was the story of the night, though.
Simple mistakes were made in high risk areas of the field. If the Blues are going to make the run-from-deep tactic work, the execution has to be perfect because danger lurks everywhere when balls are dropped or passes go astray.
"We got off to a terrible start and we made things hard for ourselves," said Blues coach Pat Lam.
"Last week we won the contact area and this week we lost it. We lost the ball and when we did have the ball we lost it again."
Lam, ever the optimist and realist, has already drawn a line under the game.
"It's four points lost and last week it was four points won. The Force won today and played well so we will regroup and get ready for them."
He'll be hoping to welcome back Afoa and possibly Woodcock. But more importantly, he'll be hoping to welcome back the physical intensity that was present against the Bulls.
Blues 21 (S. Lilo, L. McAlister, J. Rokocoko tries; S. Brett 3 cons) Stormers 33 (J. Fourie, D. Duvenage, A. van Zyl tries; P. Grant 3 cons, 4 pens). HT: 7-20.
