The Stormers held on to record a hard-earned 13-6 win over the Western Force in Perth in their Super 15 clash on Saturday night.
The defence of the Stormers held up, especially in the dying seconds, as they kept the Force at bay to cling on for a win that kept them on track to play in the finals this season.
The Stormers took their record to six victories from nine games, while the Force have just one win, having lost their last eight matches, many by narrow margins.
Once again, the Force had more than enough possession to cause the upset, but their inability to score tries continues to plague them.
Having pressured the Stormers for long periods in the second half, the Force had one last chance to square the match when they advanced towards the tryline after the final siren.
They were agonisingly close to their first try of the night, with Ross Haylett-Petty ruled to have been held up over the try line to end the match.
The Stormers scored the only try of the night, a penalty try awarded after a scrum in the 10th minute, and led 10-6 at half-time.
An easy penalty conversion by Kurt Coleman in the 75th minute was the only score in the second half.
Stormers captain Juan De Jongh said the result was more important than the way it was achieved.
“It’s not pretty but I’ll take the four points,” he said.
“The Force kept the ball very well, but full credit to our defence that kept them out.”
Without a win at home this season, Force skipper Ben McCalman was a frustrated man.
“It was the same results as previous weeks,” he said.
“We have worked hard and put ourselves in a position to score, but haven’t been able to make it count in the gold zone.
“We are letting ourselves down in certain parts of the game, especially the gold zone.”