Cape Town - Stormers coach Allister Coetzee is happy with his squad's depth after their 22-14 loss to the Cheetahs on Saturday.

Coetzee selected a completely different side to the one that beat the Lions at Newlands last week, opting to omit most of the big names and look at a number of players pushing hard for inclusion in the 30-man squad.

“The players understand that we are never happy to lose at Newlands,” Coetzee told the Stormers' website. “That said though, tonight there certainly were some positives. We used the game to assess a number of player’s ability to compete at this level. The Cheetahs brought a full strength side and the game certainly gave us some good insights into our depth this season.”

The Stormers were competitive to the end and had a number of try scoring opportunities.

“Accuracy is crucial at this level and certain players need more technical work. It is however very comforting to know that our systems have generated some great depth, with a number of players ready to make their mark at this level.”

The Stormers now travel to Port Elizabeth this week to take on the Kings in their final preparation match and Coetzee hinted that he would take a strong side, one as close as possible to the team he would look to start against the Hurricanes in their first Super Rugby fixture.

Lock Andries Bekker, eightman Duane Vermeulen and scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage are all expected back, whilst lock Reinhardt Elstadt had a good 30 minutes against the Cheetahs.