At least the visitors will leave knowing they have outscored the home team by two tries to none and the Brumbies will also leave South Africa not having lost - a win and a draw from their two games.

As for the Stormers. It was the second week in which they held a comfortable half-time lead and then blew it after the break. In fact their 9-3 half-time lead became a 15-3 advantage after 50 minutes - but the last half-an-hour the scoreboard only moved because of the Brumbies' efforts.

The most shocking aspect of the game was the Stormers' inability to finish off the opportunities that came their way.

On a number of occasions they came within metres of the Brumbies' line, but not once did they manage to turn it into a five-pointer. In fact one of those opportunities became a Brumbies try - after yet another Stormers mistake.

The Stormers, on attack, simply had no creativity or imagination. They simply shifted the ball wide and their wingers became easy pickings for the Brumbies' drift defence.

And the Brumbies were not their usual smoothness either, only occasionally putting together the kind of phases we've become so accustomed to.

Maybe the lack of creativity in the Stormers' backline can be put down to the absence of Bok centre Jean de Villiers - who withdrew for the second week in a row at a very late stage with a groin injury he  sustained in training almost two weeks ago.

The Brumbies had problems of their own, with midfield star and captain Stirling Mortlock struggling with a knee injury throughout the game. He even had to hand the kicking duties to Mark Gerard.

And the error rate on both sides suggested that the two teams were not as focussed on the task as they should have been.

The Stormers started off briskly, with their pick-and-drive game in particular very impressive.

But as the game wore on their became more predictable and probably also overdid the kicking game. While the coaching staff will defended the choice of tactics, what can't be excused is the poor execution.

The first scoring opportunity came after eight minutes, when Brumbies flank George Smith was caught slowing down the ball at a ruck. From 15m out, right in front, Peter Grant slotted it for a 3-0 lead to the home team.

The next score, nine minutes later, was also a Grant penalty - when the Brumbies were penalised for holding on at a ruck ... again in front.

But the Brumbies were on the board a couple of minutes later when the Stormers backline was caught offside deep in their own territory and Stirling Mortlock slotted the penalty.

However, the Brumbies continued to infringe and certainly tested the referee's patience, with Grant slotting a 32nd minute penalty to make it 9-3, after the Brumbies had again infringed at a line-out.

The last act of the first half - 40 minutes in which creative play was minimal and the boot dominated - was a Stirling Mortlock. But as if to say I'm coming down to your level of mediocrity, the normally great goal-kicker pulled his attempt wide and the half ended with the Stormers leading 9-3.

On the basis of their territorial advantage and superior areal game, the Stormers probably deserved their lead.

The Stormers also opened the scoring in the second half, when the Brumbies were again caught holding on at a ruck and Grant made it 12-3.

And the visitors' high error rate again cost them a few minutes later when captain Stirling Mortlock went offside and Grant obliged by making it 15-3.

But the last penalty seemed to have shook the Brumbies out of their slumber and they finally put some of their renowned phases together, before lock Alister Campbell managed to stretch out for a well-worked try. Mark Gerard, who had taken over the goal-kicking from Mortlock (who seemed to struggle with a groin strain), slotted the conversion to narrow the gap to 15-10.

And the Stormers were made to pay dearly for one of numerous mistakes, when fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper levelled the scores with a 64th-minute try. It started with a Stormers mistake five metres from Brumbies line. The Brumbies showed their great finishing ability, something the Stormers certainly lacked. The Gerard conversion was wide and the scorers were tied at 15-all.

Both teams had chances in the last 15 minutes to win the game, but neither seemed prepared to take the risk and the game petered out into a predictable draw.

Man of the match: Wallaby wing Clyde Rathbone had a couple of decent runs and Stephen Larkham created one or two opportunities, but other than that there were no real standout players in the Brumbies team. For the Stormers there was one classic Schalk Brits stepping break, but like so many other moves it produced nothing but another error. Bolla Conradie tried, Schalk Burger was his usual energetic self and the lock duo of Ross Skeate and Hennie Bekker had high work rates. But our man of the match is the Stormers' underrated Boland wing Rayno Benjamin. While Bok coach Jake White raves about his Boland teammate Jongi Nokwe, Benjamin's high workrate and greater skills showed up Nokwe's real limitations. While Nokwe has some pace, he brings nothing else to the game. Benjamin has pace, skill and a great heart. In short, he is a real rugby player.

The scorers:

For the Stormers:
Pens: Grant 5

For the Brumbies:
Tries: Campbell, Ashley-Cooper
Con: Gerard
Pen: Mortlock

Teams:

Vodacom Stormers: 15 Werner Greeff, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 De Wet Barry (captain), 12 Gus Theron, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Adri Badenhorst, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Ross Skeate, 3 Eddie Andrews, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 Neil Fullard, 18 Henk Eksteen, 19 Justin Melck, 20 Neil De Kock, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 AN Other

Brumbies: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Mark Gerrard, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan, 8 Jone Tawake, 7 George Smith, 6 Daniel Heenan, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 James McCormack, 1 Bill Young.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Nic Henderson, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Julian Salvi, 21 Gene Fairbanks, 22 Joel Wilson

Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Willie Roos (South Africa)
Television match official: Phillip Bosch (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)