Vodacom Stormers aim for top seven finish

That was the message from coach Kobus van der Merwe as his charges prepare for their match against the Reds from Queensland at Newlands on Saturday.

The Stormers surprised their detractors with a stunning victory over the powerful Blues at Newlands the past Saturday and Van der Merwe said afterwards they still have a lot to play for.

The coach also scoffed at rumours about a split in the camp. “That was evident on Saturday – the split in the camp,” he said.

Referring to the Stormers inconsistency this season, Van der Merwe said: “We actually joked in the change room about it. We said the story of the season has been win, lose, win, lose, win, lose so maybe we must ask the Reds for a bye on Saturday and play them next Wednesday.”

The coach went on to say it was important for the Stormers to finish with a flourish. “It is important for us to finish well. We have two home games and we certainly are not going to give anything away.

“We still have a lot to play for. We jumped a couple of places on the log and we are still going to see how high we can finish on the log, hopefully within the top seven.”

Captain Luke Watson echoed Watson’s sentiments, saying they want to do well in the remaining matches. And that the Sharks, their opponents in the final match, shouldn’t expect any favours.

“It might come down to our game against the Sharks at Newlands – that they have to beat us to get a home semi. The points are so close at the moment. The top teams are really going to start fighting for points now.

“A local derby is never going to be easy and we are never going to give it up,” insisted the captain.

According to team management all the players are fit and available for the game against the Reds.