The Stormers came from behind to defeat the Sharks by 25 - 18 in the first leg of the South African Super 12 at ABSA Stadium in Durban today NZT.
To the delight of the more than 40,000 home crowd the Sharks dominated the game for more than 60 minutes,leading 18 - 8 at the end of the first half after two tries by winger Stefan Terblanche and a conversion and two penalties by first five-eighths Gaffie du Toit.
The Sharks forwards dominated the scrums and line-outs but conceded too much turnover ball in the loose, allowing the Stormers to build on Marius Goosen's first half try when both fullback Percy Montgomery and wing Peter Rossouw crossed the line.
Goosen kicked two conversions and a penalty while man-of-the match Johannes Conradie scored a critical drop goal.
Sharks skipper Mark Andrews refused to make any excuses for his team's upset loss, but said it was still too early in the Super 12 tournament to panic.
Stormers captain Corne Krige said the match had echoed the South African Currie Cup final when his team had also come from behind.
"We won some great balls and had lots of good turnover," he said.
