THE Waratahs' despair at losing in the wet in Pretoria will not be eased when they watch a replay of how their next opponent, the Stormers, comfortably contained the ACT Brumbies 20-10 at Newlands early yesterday.

The Stormers again showed they would be a Super 14 finals menace when they played with panache and great pace to put away the Brumbies in the first half and enjoy their fifth successive win.

Excellent ensemble play from the Stormers gave them a 20-0 lead by the 25th minute, but they also received assistance from New Zealand referee Steve Walsh, who awarded a contentious penalty try.

After Stormers centre Gcobani Bobo took delight in exposing a large midfield gap in the Brumbies' defence to put Jean de Villiers away in the 11th minute, the two midfielders again found themselves in a good attacking position a short time later.

From a restart, De Villiers charged down the sideline and threw a pass to Bobo, who was tackled early by five-eighth Christian Lealiifano.

Even though Bobo was 20 metres from the Brumbies line, and there was doubt about whether he would have scored, Walsh opted for the penalty try.

If that was not a harsh enough penalty, Lealiifano was also pointed to the sin bin. As Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock said later: "That try pretty much broke our backs."

The Waratahs, who head to Cape Town this week, will also be tested by the determination of Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus not to allow his team to slacken off again.

He will demand a more committed effort against the Waratahs, after the Brumbies scored all their points in the second half, through tries to winger Adam Ashley-Cooper and replacement second-rower Peter Kimlin.

"It was a terrible second half," Erasmus said. "The effort wasn't good enough and the tactics weren't good enough. Every player knows this and we need to move forward from here. There's plenty of work to do in the next week."

But the Waratahs can learn from the Brumbies' refusal to capitulate. The ACT back row, in particular flankers George Smith and Stephen Hoiles, began to get on top in the second half, and by running the ball straight back at the Stormers, gaps appeared. As usual, the Brumbies did not wither.

"To go down 20 points in 14 minutes, it would be very easy away from home to say, 'Our season's gone', and put our cue in the rack," Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher said.

"But this is a side with a lot of pride and a lot of courage and I think that was demonstrated tonight. We fought courageously and I'm expecting no less next week [against the Bulls]."