Stormers coach Rassie Erasmus expressed his relief after the Stormers held off a late onslaught to emerge 20-12 victors in their Super 14 clash against the Hurricanes on Saturday.

The Cape Town franchise managed to get out to a 20-0 lead after half time, but a strong fightback from the Hurricanes in the last third of the match had the home side looking nervously over at the scoreboard at times.

Coach Erasmus said that it was a solid performance against a very dangerous side, one that managed to stick 50 points past the Bulls at Loftus last weekend.

"Yes, we're happy. It's a relief, because I think they [Hurricanes] are really a quality side," said Erasmus.

"I think they didn't play well today, that's why it's satisfying that we could really grind out the win today. I wouldn't say it was our best [performance of the season].

"I think this was the most physical [challenge] that we have experienced thus far. Definitely, the individual brilliance that we had to handle, makes this one a little more satisfying."

The win lifts the Stormers up to fourth place in a very closely contested log table, and with three of their last four games to be played at Newlands, the Stormers will know that a semifinal spot is within their own grasp.

There was some bad news for the home side however. Prop JD Moller and star wing Tonderai Chavhanga picked up injuries, and will in all likelihood be out of action for at least a couple of weeks.

Erasmus feared the worst for his prop forward, who reeled in pain before leaving the field with a shoulder complaint.

"Both [players] are longer than two weeks [out] at least," revealed the coach.

"I'm not a doctor but they are going for scans and stuff, and JD [Moller's injury] looks like a dislocated shoulder, and Tondie [Chavhanga's injury] looks like a hamstring. So Tondie is difficult to predict, but JD I think will be [out for] two weeks plus."

The injuries will test the depth of the Stormers squad, especially at prop, since tighthead prop Brian Mujati was another player to succumb to injury in the match. Thankfully for Erasmus, Mujati's complaint seems to be not too serious.

"[Brian Mujati] actually had cramps. I think it's tough for a guy who's usually a tighthead [prop] and hasn't really played loosehead at any level. He also got a hamstring cramp at the end, and couldn't go on."

Erasmus explained that Moller's injury was a big setback to the squad, and that the burly front ranker was an integral part of the Stormers set-up.

"We gonna miss him [JD Moller] big time, without a doubt.

"He's not only a great player, but he's also got a great work ethic and he helped change the culture of the way we train and the way we want to be seen as players. So we'll miss him in many respects."

Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers also had his say after the match, and tried to put a finger on why his team have picked up the habit of conceding late points in matches, after building up comfortable leads.

They were guilty of this against the Hurricanes, conceding 12 late points after going into a 20-0 lead, and also committed a similar lapse last week against the Cheetahs.

"We defended well, but missed some crucial tackles," said the in-form De Villiers.

"We sat back a bit, and we couldn't get our hands on the ball [in the latter stages of the game]. We couldn't get in their half, and we couldn't get our hands on the ball. You can't be defending for forty minutes.

"It was the same problem last week, and it's something we'll have to work on.

De Villiers pointed out that the Stormers defensive strategy paid dividends against the Hurricanes, despite the team facing some rather stern pressure deep in their own territory late in the match.

"We have a defensive system that we stick to. In our system the fullback covers the last man," revealed the captain.

"But they did execute their moves well. They did get metres out wide, but that was our plan as well — [to] rather let them get metres out wide rather than cutting us through the middle, where I thought they were more dangerous.

"And then the cover defence and the scramble defence I thought did well to get to those outside players. So in essence I thought it worked.

"It might have looked from the side that we were in trouble, but that was the plan that we had, and I thought we executed it well," said the Bok centre.

365