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The DHL Stormers held on with everything they had - at the end of a dominant second half display - to win the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship final.
At a raucous DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday night, the Stormers snatched a narrow 18-13 victory against the Vodacom Bulls as they outscored the visitors from Pretoria by two tries to one.
It was a battle of inches as both sides threw everything at one another, trying to use their powerful forward packs and exciting backs to gain authority on a cold and wet night in the Mother City.
With both teams delivering tenacious efforts, it proved to be an epic encounter and a fitting finale to South African rugby's new chapter as part of northern hemisphere rugby.
The only points scored in the first half were an early try by Vodacom Bulls centre Harold Vorster, converted by flyhalf Chris Smith, while the hosts only managed a late penalty goal by flyhalf Manie Libbok, which saw the visitors enter the break 7-3 ahead.
The second half was an equally tight scramble with two tries by the DHL Stormers No 8 Evan Roos and replacement hooker Andre-Hugo Venter,.
A conversion and a snappy drop goal by Libbok were enough to give the hosts the edge over the Vodacom Bulls, who were limited to two penalty goals by Smith, earning the Capetonians the tournament crown to the delight of the sell-out crowd.
