Rhys Litterick grabbed a last-gasp winning try as Cardiff came from behind to shock Stormers on a dramatic night at the Arms Park.

But Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Liam Belcher and Mason Grady all hit back for Cardiff as the hosts turned the game on its head.

Nel scored a second and the game looked to be heading for a draw before the replacement dived over in added time.

The home crowd faced an anxious wait as referee Hollie Davidson reviewed the replay before a raucous cheer greeted her decision.

It was the first time Cardiff had led all night, but after so many near misses so far this season, they will not care a jot.

Defeat was the final straw in a miserable European tour for Stormers, last season's beaten URC finalists, following previous losses to Glasgow, Benetton and Munster.

It is the first time Stormers have lost four in a row away from home in the URC.

Ominous start

Wales head coach Warren Gatland was in the Arms Park crowd that saw an ominous start for Cardiff as Stormers surged 14-0 ahead after 12 just minutes.

Hooker Venter peeled away from an early lineout drive to open the scoring before centre Nel crashed through soft tackling to double the visitors' lead.

But Cardiff stemmed the flow and the power of Grady and Lopeti Timani proved a real weapon.

Timani's strong carry opened space for Tinus de Beer to kick through and Hamer-Webb out-paced everyone to touch down just six minutes after replacing injured Harri Millard for his debut.

Grady then went close with a powerful burst on the left, dragging players along with him, before Belcher burrowed over from close range.

Nel benefited from Warrick Gelant's cleverly delayed pass to grab his second and put Stormers 24-14 ahead early in the second half.

But Cardiff came back a second time when Grady crashed through from a pre-planned move off a lineout.

De Beer converted and added a penalty to level the scores and set up a pulsating final 15 minutes.

Cardiff club captain Josh Turnbull came off the bench for his first appearance of the season and was on the receiving end of a dangerous clearout by Connor Evans that earned the Stormers replacement a yellow card. However, Ben Thomas pulled the penalty wide.

Full-back Cameron Winnett impressed with the boot and academy product Mackenzie Martin went close to scoring before a speculative kick by lock Seb Davies set up a final chance in the final moments that Litterick finished.

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt said: "That's a lot nicer feeling than the last three weeks. I was hiding under the table at the very end then, but we're definitely giving the fans their money's worth.

"Stormers started so well but we stayed in the fight and I could sense at half-time there was a lot more in the tank.

"We had some really powerful lads coming off the bench who made an impact but mentally they were really strong after coming off the wrong end of a few late ones."

Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Harri Millard, Willis Halaholo, Ben Thomas, Mason Grady; Tinus de Beer, Ellis Bevan; Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (capt), Will Davies-King, Seb Davies, Rory Thornton, Alex Mann, Ellis Jenkins, Lopeti Timani.

Replacements: Evan Lloyd, Rhys Carre, Rhys Litterick, Josh Turnbull, Mackenzie Martin, Jamie Hill, Jacob Beetham, Gabriel Hamer-Webb.

Stormers: Clayton Blommetjies; Courtnall Skosan, Ruhan Nel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ben Loader; Jean-Luc du Plessis, Stefan Ungerer; Brok Harris (capt), Andre-Hugo Venter, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, Adre Smith, Ruben van Heerden, Nama Xaba, Willie Engelbrecht, Marcel Theunissen.

Replacements: Scarra Ntubeni, Sti Sithole, Neethling Fouche, Connor Evans, Hendre Stassen, Keke Morabe, Herschel Jantjies, Warrick Gelant.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

Assistant referees: Dewi Phillips & Carwyn Williams (WRU)

TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)