The Stormers on Saturday managed to keep their hopes of a semifinal berth in the Super 12 competition alive with a last-gasp 29-27 victory over the Reds at Outeniqua Park.

A try in injury time by No 8 Bob Skinstad secured the home side's win after they relinquished a halftime lead of 19-7 to the determined Reds side in the second stanza.

The Stormers are very lucky to still be in the running and there will be grave concerns in their camp after the inept performance in the second half.

The Reds, severely disrupted by the loss of captain and midfield kingpin Daniel Herbert before the game, settled down after a shaky start and had the Stormers in all sorts of trouble in the second half. The Queenslanders had to move Wallaby No 8 Toutai Kefu to outside centre alongside his brother Steve, but the Stormers could never expose his lack of experience there.

John Roe filled in for Kefu at No 8. To compound matters for the Reds, they've lost experienced international wing Ben Tune too. Damian Smith started, but disaster struck early in the game when he collided mid-air with Steve Kefu.

The Wallaby had to be carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a broken leg.

Although they got two points for scoring four tries and losing within seven points, the defeat spells the end of the Reds' rather disappointing challenge for a semifinal spot. New coach Mark McBain could prepare himself for a torrent of criticism upon his return to Brisbane.

The Reds, however, were desperately unlucky to lose this one against a Stormers team that put up one of their worst performances in three years.

The pack, with Morne van der Merwe impressive in his first start at tighthead, played much better than previously, but the backline couldn't find the fluidity to round off some promising movements. Robbie Fleck at inside centre showed some nice touches and he ripped open the defence with some nifty footwork on occasions, while Breyton Paulse was ever dangerous when in possession.

A lot of the moves, however, came a cropper through poor finishing and bad options.

The try by Skinstad drew the scores level at 27-27 and the Stormers' hopes depended on centre Braam van Straaten, who just after halftime failed with two easy penalties. This time he made no mistake and the vital two points sent the 11 000 strong crowd into delirium.

The home crowd was forced to endure a nerve-wracking second half as the visitors overturned a 16-0 deficit after just 24 minutes with a sensational fight back effort, sparked by Wallaby fullback Chris Latham, who was deservedly named Man of the Match.

Van Straaten's boot had kept the scoreboard relentlessly ticking during the opening 20 minutes, when the Reds still battled to gel into a unit after the disruptions to their side. The Springbok first slotted a penalty in the fourth minute, then converted Fleck's try and two more penalties - in the 16th and 18th minute respectively - saw the Stormers surging away at 16-0.

The Reds, however, showed a lot of guts and fighting spirit and it was Wallaby hooker Michael Foley who started the comeback when he scored after good driving play by the Reds from a lineout five metres out. Flyhalf Nathan Spooner converted and added another penalty just before the break, but not before Van Straaten slotted another penalty in the 38th minute.

The warning lights started to flicker brightly for the Stormers when Latham ghosted through for a try in the 52nd minute. Spooner converted to draw them within two points.

Latham was prominent again in the 60th minute when he chipped ahead to challenge Fleck in a race to the try-line. The ball, however, eluded both of them just to bounce perfect for Spooner to dot down.

A long range penalty from Van Straaten gave the Stormers some breathing space in the 63rd minute, but Reds' lock Nathan Sharpe seemed to have landed the killer blow when he scored after great work on the blind side by Roe and Jacob Rauluni, the replacement scrumhalf.

But it was not to be as Skinstad dived over after Fleck created some space with an angled run. Van Straaten coolly slotted the conversion to keep the lucky Stormers in the run.