Stormers 18
Highlanders 11
It was an absorbing contest, one of modest quality, but intriguing as two evenly matched sides slogged it out at Carisbrook.
The Highlanders were looking for a victory to give them some faint hope of a semifinal place, the Stormers were hunting the rarest of Super 14 victories in New
Zealand.
That celebration came, but the visitors' outstanding defence had to repel the Highlanders fury in a tense final nine minutes after Peter Grant scored the decisive try before they could claim their prize.
They saved a lineout on their line and lock Andries Bekker chased down Jason Shoemark's late break with a magnificent tackle before the Sormers heard the sweet relief of the fulltime whistle.
As tense as the final minutes were, there had been little to enthuse about for significant chunks of this match, one which on balance the Stormers deserved to win.
It took 26 minutes before there was any tangible reward for either side.
The Stormers' Peter Grant missed a handy early penalty attempt which would have given his side at least a little reward for their opening-quarter advantage.
But he pushed that attempt wide and despite all their efforts the visitors made no inroads against flinty Highlanders defence.
A rare home team foray drew a penalty for obstruction and Matt Berquist stabbed the kick between the posts to give them an unlikely lead.
He repeated the effort after a tempestuous patch of play involving allegations of biting which were unseen by the match officials.
And that was about it. There was little else to recommend the first part of the match. There was some heavy industry, plenty of grunt and groan, but little flow or rhythm from either side. Both relied on kicking for territory, looking for errors from the opposition or tempting them to open up the game.
Neither took the bait so in a game of forceback and tackle, where defences held tight there was minimal attack.
Heading to the sheds with the Highlanders 6-0 ahead, the curiosity was whether either side would ramp up the risk-taking or whether the slogfest would continue.
The answer came quickly by mistake when the Stormers regathered a wayward grubber and massive Fijian wing Sireli Naqelevuki cantered from halfway though no defender was able to reel him back. At last it was game on.
The response was rapid as fullback Israel Dagg made a tasty cut in midfield and slung a perfect pass for his wing Ben Smith to race to the corner. Grant replied when the Highlanders ran out of defenders as a tense final few minutes played out.
Stormers: S Naqelevuki, P Grant tries, W de Waal 2 pen, con
Highlanders: 11 B Smith try; M Berquist 2 pen
Halftime: 6-0
