Habana scores twice as Stormers beat Waratahs

**travelling_gerry** · 21-02-10, 09:13

Habana scores twice as Stormers beat Waratahs

AFP February 21, 2010, 5:03 am

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CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Springbok wing Bryan Habana scored twice on his home debut as the Western Stormers beat the New South Wales Waratahs 27-6 in a Super 14 rugby match at Newlands here on Saturday.
Habana's tries came in the space of 12 minutes soon after half-time to enable the Stormers to pull away in what until then had been a closely-contested match.
The Waratahs had the majority of possession but could not breach a resolute Stormers defence.
Habana, who moved from the champion Bulls to the Cape franchise at the end of last season, notched his first try after 42 minutes when he charged down a kick from Waratahs centre Kurtley Beale.
The speedy wing scored again when he was put into a gap by scrumhalf Ricky Januarie after a scrum. With Joe Pietersen converting both tries a 13-6 lead turned into a 21-point advantage
"It was a great all-round performance," said Habana.
"We were able to dominate with the possession we got."
The win enabled the Stormers to be one of only four teams with two wins after the first two weekends of the southern hemisphere championship. But for the second weekend in a row they could not notch a bonus point.
"We're happy with the four points," said stand-in captain Andries Bekker.
"The Waratahs are a good team."
The Waratahs had the better of the early exchanges, with left wing Drew Mitchell twice cutting in to take the ball in a fly-half position and making ground, while right wing Lachlan Turner came close after collecting a chip ahead by flyhalf Berrick Barnes.
The Stormers had difficulty early on with the timing of their shove at scrums, several times losing the advantage of a put-in when they were penalised by New Zealand referee Keith Brown for engaging too early.
Barnes put the Australian side ahead with a penalty goal after 18 minutes and the Stormers suffered a major blow four minutes later when captain Schalk Burger left the field with a right hamstring injury.
But replacement Pieter Louw had a good game and the Stormers went ahead after 29 minutes when they drove from a lineout and flanker Francois Louw rounded off a move that went through seven phases.
The Stormers led 13-3 at half-time and the only score by the visitors in the second half was a penalty by Barnes immediately after the break.
"We need to tighten up on our discipline," said Waratahs veteran captain Phil Waugh.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...beat-waratahs/