The DHL Stormers XXIII went down 29-7 in their Carling Currie Cup match against the Airlink Pumas at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
Despite impressing in many areas, the DHL Stormers XXIII battled to convert their dominance of territory and at scrum-time, leaving them largely frustrated by the hosts
The opening exchanges were fierce, with neither team taking a backward step and the defences dominating proceedings.
The home side got up and running with a penalty from flyhalf Revaldo Fleurs and they managed to hit double figures when scrumhalf Tom Bursey picked up a loose ball to score against the run of play.
Despite dominating territorially, the DHL Stormers XXIII found themselves behind, and it got even worse on the stroke of half-time, with Airlink Pumas wing Banie Britz scoring from a cross-kick to make it 15-0 at the break.
The visitors got on the scoreboard early in the second half, with Mfundo Ndhlovu scoring after getting a good offload from young Markus Muller.
The Mpumalanga side responded with a maul try before lock JJ Scheepers bashed his way over to secure the bonus point and make it 29-7.
The DHL Stormers XXIII remained a threat in the dying stages and looked certain to score on multiple occasions, but could not find the finishing touch.
The scorers:
For DHL Stormers XXIII:
Try: Ndhlovu
Con: Smith
For Airink Pumas:
Tries: Bursey, Britz, Campher, Scheepers
Cons: Fleurs 3
Pen: Fleurs
DHL Stormers XXIII: 15 JC Mars, 14 Joel Leotlela, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Mfundo Ndhlovu, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (captain), 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Keke Morabe, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Tom Barnard, 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo.
Replacements: 16 Altus Rabe, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Danie Kruger, 19 Luan Botha, 20 Xola Nyali, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Kyle Smith, 23 Gino Cupido.
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