The Stormers cemented their place in the top two of the Super 14 standings with an accomplished 21-8 win over a determined Cheetahs team in Cape Town on Saturday.

In a game where defence, on both sides, was the outstanding feature, the Stormers outscored the Cheetahs by two tries to one.

Had they collected a four-try bonus point they would have overtaken compatriots the Bulls at the top of the standings, but the win was a fine effort nonetheless.

The Stormers had almost 70 percent of the possession and almost an equal amount of advantage in territory stakes in the first half, but they held a narrow 13-5 lead at the break - a half that saw just one try each by the teams.

And the men from Cape Town scored the only try of the second half, with the stand-out feature again being the Stormers' resolute defence.

The scorers:

For the Stormers:
 Tries: Pietersen, Fourie
Con: Pietersen
Pens: Pietersen 2, De Waal

For the Cheetahs:
Try: Bosman
DG: Olivier

Teams:

Stormers: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Fabian Juries, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Frans Viljoen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Barend Pieterse, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Corne Uys, 22 Danwel Demas.