Vodacom Stormers looking to end tour with win

The Stormers have so far had one victory and two defeats on tour and their sights are this week firmly set on ending the month-long tour on a high note. Coach Kobus van der Merwe has made it clear that he expects each and every member of the squad to give it their all with the aim of achieving a 50% success rate on tour.

“As it stands out tour results do not look good on tour but we can change that if we can get a win on Friday. If we can get a bonus point we will have earned 10 points on tour, the best of any Stormers side to date”.

Van der Merwe is quick to point out, however, that a win will only be a start towards the Stormers ending the 2006 Vodacom Super 14 season on a positive note.

“We have not had a great season and there are no excuses. We have to get it together with the aim of finishing on a high. After the Reds we have three tough games in South Africa that we can use to ensure that we still end in a respectable position on the log,” van der Merwe said.

Van der Merwe said he was happy with the initial training sessions in Brisbane, saying his message to the team this week was to carry the intensity and discipline from the training field to the match. “These sessions were good but the guys have to translate this onto the field of play and in pressure situations. There was a good intensity and the forwards also had a solid scrumming session,” he said.

The team to face the Reds will be named on Wednesday.