Stormers assistant coach Paul Treu says they are aiming to develop ‘smart players who make smart decisions’ when it comes to option-taking on defence.

The Stormers’ defensive line speed was a key feature in their important victory against the Blues this past Saturday as it prevented the Auckland-based side from enjoying time and space to launch their dangerous attack.

Despite the Stormers’ recent winless run on tour, the coaching staff have insisted that the team is making progress in the right direction, and there was clear improvement in terms of how the Cape-based side executed their defensive pattern last Saturday.

Treu – who is in charge of all structured attack and defence – said the focus on accurate line speed had been a work-in-progress for a couple of years.

‘There’s a time and place for everything, you can’t apply line speed to everything. It depends on the situation in terms of numbers and space.

‘And that’s what we’re trying to build – smart players who make smart decisions, who know when to go up hard, when to cut off the options in the wider channels, and when to take it a little easy.’

The Stormers are set to face a travel-weary Reds side this Saturday after a medical mix-up saw their journey to South Africa significantly delayed on Monday.

The Reds were on their way from Buenos Aires to Johannesburg, via Sao Paulo, when they were diverted to London due to the fact they never had the required yellow fever vaccinations.

Photo: EPA/Nic Bothma