Edinburgh: (3) 17
Tries: Hill, McHaffie Cons: Grayson 2 Pens: Grayson
Stormers (0) 13
Try: Dayimani Cons: Ahmed Pens: Ahmed 2
Edinburgh made it two wins from two at the start of the United Rugby Championship season with a gritty success against Stormers at Hive Stadium.
The hosts were looking to continue the early-season momentum built with a superb bonus-point win away to Ulster last weekend.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi was making his first appearance in a Stormers shirt in over five years, but it was Edinburgh who struck first with a long-range James Grayson penalty.
There was little to no action in either 22 in the first half, with dropped balls and the referee’s whistle taking centre stage.
Stormers’ attempts to make inroads into Edinburgh territory were repeatedly foiled by Liam McConnell, with the young flanker stealing three lineouts against the throw in the first half alone.
Magnus Bradbury thought he had crossed for the game’s opening try just before half-time, but the referee judged he had made a double movement in the act of touching down and ruled it out.
Two penalties in three minutes early in the second half from Stormers fly-half Yaqeen Ahmed put the visitors in front as a strong breeze continued to impact the quality of attacking rugby from both sides.
The Stormers’ lineout was wobbly throughout and it was their undoing as Edinburgh scored the opening try just before the hour mark.
A loose throw was picked off at the tail by Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, and a phase later the substitute hooker made a storming burst to take Edinburgh within inches of the South African line. They had a couple of cracks before another replacement, prop Paul Hill, dived over.
Wandisile Simelane thought he had wrestled the lead back for the visitors when he found his way to the line, but replays showed Piers O’Connor had done just enough to force the Stormers winger into touch before he touched down.
The reprieve was short-lived as a dominant Stormers scrum in the shadow of the posts allowed number eight Hacjivah Dayimani to peel off and power over.
The Edinburgh response was impressive. They battered at the Stormers line before swinging it wide to substitute Rory McHaffie. The 19-year-old did brilliantly to gather Grayson’s pass off the deck and beat the cover defence to score on his home debut.
There was still work to do as Stormers kicked a penalty to the corner in the final play. Once again McConnell made a nuisance of himself at the lineout and disrupted the Stormers ball. It came back on the Edinburgh side and they were able to get it off the pitch to secure a hard-earned victory.