Stormers coach Gert Smal on Friday night praised his tight five for providing the platform for the 40-13 Super 12 win over the Hurricanes at Newlands and sounded a warning that his side can
still get better.

"We targeted the forwards and I thought the tight five did very well. That is where it starts," said Smal, who was both delighted and relieved after the win, which came in the wake of last week's one-point defeat to the Waratahs.

"Our combinations are starting to settle, but we can still improve by a big margin. We also missed several scoring chances. We want to shift the points of attack and vary the game. That's what
makes you unpredictable," said Smal.

One of the standout performers in the tight five was hooker Tjoepie van den Heever, who moved back down to Cape Town from East London this year and was making only his second start in the Super
12. His lineout throws were good, while he also provided vital impetus in taking the ball up.

"We saw what Tjoepie could do when we (Western Province) played Border in East London last year. I liked what I saw then," said Smal.

Van den Heever was also impressive in the scrums with front row colleagues Daan Human and Cobus Visagie and the Stormers' first try came as a result of them pushing the Hurricanes off the ball.

Defensively the Stormers were also excellent and Captain Courageous Corne Krige typified the spirit as he brought down All Black giant Jonah Lomu down on four occasions.

"We never made a fuss about Lomu (in the build-up). We really focused on what we had to do. We managed it well and often looked dangerous. As a team we defended well. There were a few times we
shifted out of our channels and I was also guilty. If we show patience, teams will find it difficult to score against us," said Krige.

Although the Hurricanes were disrupted by the late withdrawal of All Black centre Tana Umaga and a resultant reshuffle, Stormers assistant coach Carel du Plessis was delighted with his young backline's showing.

"It will be good for their confidence. We just needed to be more patient, particularly when they were reduced to 13 guys on the field. We had to put some phases together, but on the whole I'm
happy, especially with the midfield," said Du Plessis.

Hurricanes coach Graham Mourie said the loss of Umaga had proved disruptive to his side. "He is an experienced player and we had to move Christian Cullen way from fullback to centre. It didn't help much because he runs well off Tana," he said.

Mourie added that they had struggled to adjust to refereeing interpretations at the tackle ball situation. "We were penalised for holding the ball in the tackle. Many of the penalties were in
go forward situations."

For the Hurricanes, it does not get easier. They arrive back in New Zealand on Monday and have a showdown against the Sharks next Friday.

"We made plenty of mistakes tonight and defensively we need improving. We're at a very interesting stage. The Sharks will be a crucial game for us. They will be smarting after three defeats in a row," said Mourie. - Sapa