A moment of individual brilliance by Western Stormers centre Juan de Jongh put his team on the way to their first Super 14 southern hemisphere championship final when they beat New South Wales Waratahs 25-6 at Newlands Saturday.
The Stormers set up an all-South African final and will meet Northern Bulls who beat Canterbury Crusaders 39-24 in the earlier semi-final, in Soweto next Saturday.
De Jongh scored the only try of a match dominated by ferocious forward exchanges, tight defence and the boot of Stormers fly-half Peter Grant, who kicked six penalty goals and a conversion.
"We had to grind it out," said Stormers coach Allister Coetzee.
"The Waratahs started well and we had to absorb and adapt."
Coetzee gave credit to his team's defence.
"We put them under pressure to concede penalties and it shows at the end of the day on the scoreboard. The players showed a lot of composure."
The Stormers coach said the final, in the unusual setting of Orlando football stadium in the black township of Soweto outside Johannesburg, was "a fantastic opportunity".
Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Bulls usual home ground, is not available because of the upcoming World Cup.
"The Bulls have been the form side this season," said Stormers captain Schalk Burger of next weekend's opponents, who earned a home final by finishing top of the log at the end of the round-robin phase.
"We've been trying to follow in their footsteps but anything can happen in a final." he told AFP.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said his team had failed to capitalise on a strong start.
"It's important to turn that pressure into points. We didn't manage to do that and the Stormers certainly came on the back of it and applied a lot of pressure. It felt like we were playing on the back foot for most of the night."
Until De Jongh's try in the 25th minute, the Waratahs had looked slightly the better side, holding an edge in the tight phases.
But the try put the Stormers into an ascendancy which they never relinquished. The Stormers, with the best defensive record in the competition, snuffed out every Waratahs attack with aggressive tackling.
Leading 13-6 at half-time, the Stormers took control after the break, forcing the Australians into mistakes which were ruthlessly punished by Grant.
De Jongh's try was the difference between the two teams at half-time after 40 minutes of tight rugby with a minimum of errors.
The Stormers went ahead through a Grant penalty in the ninth minute when the Waratahs were caught offside. Another penalty by Grant put the home side 6-0 ahead but the Waratahs hit back with a penalty by Barnes.
A snap drop goal by Barnes put the Waratahs on level terms after 24 minutes, but from the kick-off the Stormers gained possession.
The ball went to De Jongh in midfield and the stocky centre made a dazzling step inside off his left foot to beat one tackler, then accelerated, stepping inside and out as he beat four men to score near the posts.
De Jongh made another crucial contribution soon after half-time with a great tackle on opposite number Tom Carter, who found space to make a dangerous run down the centre of the field.
Grant had a chance to stretch the lead to 10 points but missed a penalty six minutes after the break. But he made amends four minutes later with his third successful penalty and the Waratahs never looked likely to haul back the deficit.
Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said it was a disappointing effort by his team and that they hadn't taken their chances.
"We broke their line and turned the ball over numerous times," flanker Waugh said.
"In semi-final football you can't do that. Their discipline was good and they kicked penalty goals and kept accumulating points."
