Stormers now turn their attention to the Chiefs

Stormers captain Siya Kolisi has warned his charges that the hard work of the past few months will count for nothing if they fail to beat the Chiefs in Super Rugby quarter-final in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Capetonians beat the Bulls 41-33 in a try fest at Loftus on Saturday in the last match of the season to confirm their date with the New Zealanders at home.

Speaking after the Loftus win where Stormers impressively scored six to the Bulls' five tries on the afternoon‚ Kolisi said they have to make it count if they are to progress to the semis.

“Next weekend is going to be a totally different challenge for us and everything that we have done so far this season will count for nothing if we don’t turn up against the Chiefs‚” he said.

This match is a repeat of last year’s quarter-final where the Chiefs ran out comprehensive 60-21 winners in Cape Town and Kolisi said that experience will serve as motivation.

“We are not going to focus on what happened last year but it will serve as motivation to make us want to play even more because I don’t want it to happen again‚" said the Springboks flanker who will be leading the team for the first time in a Super Rugby knockout match.

"We are a totally different team compared to last year and it is good that we are at home.”

Stormers go into the quarter-final on the back of three successive wins over Southern Kings‚ Jaguares and the Bulls and Kolisi said the recent results will give them confidence.

“It is really good to have managed to put three wins in a row at the business end of the competition and it’s what we have been talking about internally.

Stormers coach Robbie Fleck said they managed to score six tries against the Bulls but they will be up against it in the quarter-final and there are still areas that must be improved.

“Our set-piece play and structure of the game could get better and defensively we were a bit loose at times from individual errors‚" said Fleck.

"But if we can get a little bit more clarity and confidence we should be okay.

"Going into the quarter-final‚ there is minimal possession‚ turnover opportunities that you can get from your defence.

"Last year’s quarter-final was a 60 pointer and let’s hope it’s not that.

"If we tighten a few areas it will be a good contest‚ the way we are going at the moment is good because we are putting teams under pressure and scoring some good tries.”

- TimesLIVE