Stormers bow out of the Champions Cup

One of Champions Cup rugby's enduring truisms proved the roadblock to South African interest in this year's competition on Saturday. 

The Stormers, much like the Sharks earlier in the afternoon in Toulouse, found life far away from home littered with peril in the continent's elite competition. 

The Stormers, lacking composure, conviction and crucially vitality, found Exeter Chiefs too tough to contain as they went down 42-17 to exit the Champions Cup in Exeter at the quarterfinal stage. 

The holders of the United Rugby Championship (URC) had hoped to announce themselves among European rugby's elite in the Champions Cup semifinals but they will face a trip back to Cape Town as long and possibly more interrogatory than the one they made the other way barely five days earlier. 

This is a result that will bring them and South Africa's other franchises sobering perspective. 

French and English clubs simply don't rack up the same number of air miles and that hands them a compelling advantage in the Champions Cup. 

In future campaigns the value of home ground advantage at the business end of this competition cannot be understated and SA teams will now be even more awake to the fact that only their best by way of personnel and performance will get the job done among this competition's top dogs. 

The Stormers travails on the road is a developing theme with this their fifth defeat away from home in both European competitions this season. 

They arrived in the UK courtesy of three different intercontinental flights and to be frank they were as fragmented in the opening half.  

They lacked cohesion and confidence against a home side who happened to have those commodities in abundance and duly delivered their best performance of the season. 

The hosts were thoroughly adroit when they moved the ball around.  

They patiently build the phases and play with width, even daringly floating skip passes to nullify the widest defender. 

 The Stormers' contestable kicks were too deep to place the recipient under pressure. 

The home team monopolised possession in the first half holding 67% and it reflected on the scoreboard that read 21-0 at the break. 

At the breakdown Deon Fourie's absence was keenly felt but Hacjivah Dayimani and Willie Engelbrecht were summoned from the bench to help turn the tide at the restart. 

The visitors started the second half with greater urgency with fullback Damian Willemse particularly influential. He duly got his reward with their first score but by then Sandy Park for the visitors was effectively quick sand. 

 Scorers 

Exeter (42) — Tries: Tom Wyatt, Jack Nowell, Olly Woodburn, Sam Simmonds, Jack Yeandle, Tom Cairns. Conversions: Joe Simmonds (6). 

 Stormers (17) — Tries: Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Marvin Orie. Conversion: Manie Libbok. 

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