Rain could have cost Stormers

Stormers captain Jean de Villiers has expressed his delight with the victory over the Cheetahs in trying conditions in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Stormers picked up a narrow 13-6 triumph that secures them top spot in the South African conference, but by missing out on a bonus point they still trail the Chiefs in the overall log.

De Villiers admitted that the wet conditions made it tough to go in search of a four-try bonus point, but is satisfied in coming away with a hard fought win.

"The victory over the Cheetahs is very important," De Villiers said.

"It was terrible to play in the pouring rain and to score four tries in those conditions was always going to be difficult.

"We've got the win and will take the four points.

"We've had a tough ride this season, but we've done very well."

The Cheetahs put up a bigger fight than many would have expected against the Stormers and were in with a shout in the match for the full 80 minutes, but it was not to be for captain Adriaan Strauss and his men.

"We are very disappointed with the result," Strauss said.

"Obviously we wanted to win our last home game, but we didn't.

"I am still proud of the team though. They pitched in the wet conditions and played well.

"We also did very well in the scrums, but we just couldn't come away with the victory."

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