Coetzee praises Stormers for ‘best effort ever’

STORMERS coach Allister Coetzee has hailed his team’s achievement of topping the Super Rugby log as the “best effort by any Stormers side ever”.

The Stormers won the SA conference and ended on top of the standings by beating the Rebels 26-21 at Newlands on Saturday.

It is the first time that the Stormers have ended at No 1 after the round robin stages, beating the efforts of the 1999, 2010 and 2011 teams that ended second on the log.

The Cape side also set a new record for most victories in a Super Rugby season after winning 14 out of 16 league games, and for clinching a third consecutive home semi-final at Newlands, which will take place on July 28.

“You can take nothing away from the achievement. I think it’s been a fantastic ride throughout the season. We’ve been very pleased about that, and that is what we will celebrate,” Coetzee said.

“It’s the best effort by any Stormers side ever: to be at the top of the log, and also winning the conference for the second time in a row.

“This is really a difficult thing to win.”

The Stormers weren’t at their best against the Rebels, and Coetzee admitted that his team have a lot of fine-tuning to do before the semi-finals if they hope to avoid the same fate they suffered in the semis last year – losing 29-10 to the Crusaders at Newlands.

They also went down in the 2010 final against the Bulls.