Rassie’s Sharks surprise
13 Feb 2006
Cheetahs coach Rassie Erasmus has a few tricks up his sleeve for his side’s Vodacom Super 14 clash against the Sharks in Durban this weekend.
The Cheetahs are looking to do the “Durban double”, having shocked the Sharks in the Absa Currie Cup at King’s Park last year, by playing a conservative 10-man game. This infuriated Sharks coach Dick Muir who accused the Free Staters of playing negative rugby.
“Free State played a negative game and it worked,” said Muir at the time. “They outsmarted us, tactically we were outplayed, and I take the blame for that. We were not able to adapt accordingly.”
Erasmus’s response was short and to the point. “We just wanted to win,” he said. “We needed the four log points and we played to our strengths.”
The Cheetahs arrive in Durban this Saturday, desperate for their first win of the season. With the Sharks having beaten the Chiefs in their opener, Erasmus’s side need four log points to stay in touch with the leading pack.
“We might do a few things differently this time around,” Erasmus told keo.co.za on Monday. “What I want to achieve is a balance between explansive and conservative rugby. There’s a time to kick and a time to spread the ball wide.”
The Cheetahs’ season got off to the perfect start last Friday when winger Eddie Fredericks scored in the first minute, but it was the Bully Boys who left Bloem with five log points.
“Look, we didn’t play well,” said Erasmus. “But we did well to come back to within two points of them with two minutes to go. What I’m very disappointed about is the fact that we conceded 10 points in those final two minutes, which cost us a bonus point.”
Erasmus made three late changes to his starting XV last Friday, bringing in flyhalf Willem de Waal, hooker Trevor Leota and prop CJ van der Linde. While the media suggested the coach was playing mind games against the Bulls, Erasmus says the conditions forced his hand.
“There was a lot of rain in Bloem during the week and the field was hulluva heavy and soft under foot,” he said. “CJ trained on the field on Thursday and said his foot wasn’t hurting as much because the field was so soft. I then decided to give him 20 minutes at the start of the match, as we wanted to take the game to the Bulls scrum. Trevor is also quite a heavy guy, so I wanted him to start and give the Bulls a tough time early on. As for Willem, the conditions were ideal for a kicking game.”
Erasmus also dismissed allegations that he was making illegal front row substitutions.
“Jannie [du Plessis] left the field with a gash above his eye and had to have seven stiches,” he said. “He sure looked injured to me.”
A record crowd of 40 000 attended Friday’s match in Bloem, which pleased Erasmus and everyone at the Free State Rugby Union.
“People are already saying that we won’t fill the stadium for our next game,” he said. “That’s going to be our next challenge – to bring them back. It was our performances over the last year and a half that filled the stadium on Friday. There’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
31 Comments
13 Feb 2006, 08:47 am
Yip
Rassie
The team did us proud
Stop the mindgames however- and let the ball flow
Play Bosman against the sharks
GROM SAAM- GO VODACOM CHEETAHS GO SUPER 14 !
13 Feb 2006, 08:47 am
Take it easy Rassie, play the games on the field boet or else the dragons will get you.
13 Feb 2006, 08:49 am
OO, bad luck with the Cheetahs, I was so dissapointing that the “old Cats” lost again.
13 Feb 2006, 08:49 am
*It*
13 Feb 2006, 08:58 am
Rassie, welcome to Super Rugby and it will only get tougher. You are only as good as your last game, and that was the Currie Cup final…I would
rather look at a “Super 14 double loose” than a “Durban double” if I were you…
13 Feb 2006, 09:00 am
Whats explansive?
13 Feb 2006, 09:01 am
Koos maybe it must read expansive…Where is the editor to check this…Hehehe
13 Feb 2006, 09:03 am
Just thought Simon never make mistakes so it must be me not understanding…
13 Feb 2006, 09:05 am
Koos explansive is an explanation that goes into a hell of a lot of detail.
13 Feb 2006, 09:09 am
Thanks RC
13 Feb 2006, 09:12 am
Rassie will soon learn that you have to play Rugby and not work the ref ( ala Naka ), play games with team selections, to win games in S14.
( it worked once in Cc )
I actually think his games worked against him, Bosman was far better than De Waal when he came on. CJ did nothing to Engels in fact CJ’s not binding in scrum could have been penalised a lot more.
13 Feb 2006, 09:14 am
OO,
Agreed. Rassie has to play Bosman in the next game. Also beleive that we played the wrong gameplan against the Bulls. De Waal kicked away too much possession in the second half. Cooke, Goodes and Fortuin impressed me though.
13 Feb 2006, 09:42 am
Rassie, the Cheetahs couldn’t have lost to a better team. But seriously, I hope that everyone’s second favourite team manage to rebound from this loss and make their mark in the S14.
Rassie might be sailing pretty close to the wind with his prop substitutions and he should take care that it doesn’t negatively impact the Cheetahs in future games, after the Aussies and Kiwis tumble him.
13 Feb 2006, 09:44 am
I will have to support the Sharks for this game.
With relegation in mind it would be aweful to have the Sharks out.
13 Feb 2006, 10:05 am
Snoop after round one , the Cats are in the honours.
13 Feb 2006, 10:48 am
The Cheetahs are going to be a much tougher opponent then the Chiefs. I am looking forward to the game.
Come on Sharks… two in a row will be a great start.
13 Feb 2006, 11:15 am
The Cheetahs was always my second favourite team, but with the latest sideshows they are dropping fast in my books.
1. CC illegal substitutions
2. changing half the team on the morning of the game
3. insisting that de Waal kicks the whole game (surely it was not his own “masterplan”)
4. Juan Smith playing the ref all the time (remind me of that NZ twat hooker captain Fitzpatrick)
5. “inciting violence”, i.e. Rassie tells the guys to “take it to the Bulls”, nudge nudge wink wink. In the CC final and last week you could see that the Cheetahs wanted to play the man and not the ball. Win the fight and worry about the match later.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Rassie has a rugby brain and Juan Smith is a good player (derserving of the Bok jersey).
I just think that very soon the Cheetahs will get a ref that doesn’t take **** from Juan and penalise the team for Rassie’s substitution mind games. Jonathan Kaplan was outmaneovred by Rassie’s mind games. he didn’t act against ther foul play for 60 minutes and eventually ended up sending a player off for soft mistake. The overseas refs will not let Juan dictate to them what to do because don’t care **** if he is a Springbok. To them he is just a player that is continiuosly implaying he cannot do his job and need a bit of assistance from the Cheetahs players.
I never thought I’d actually say this, but the way the Sharks played (straightforward hard passionate rugby) they are coming close to replacing the Cheetahs as my second favourite team (now that they have dropped all the sideshiows and started playing rugby).
13 Feb 2006, 11:21 am
who is the ref for saturday?
13 Feb 2006, 11:22 am
Shakespear, that art one good post from thee.
13 Feb 2006, 11:23 am
need to play 15-man rugby to do well in the S14, totally different kettle of fish to the CC.
13 Feb 2006, 11:24 am
OH NOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!
Sharks, you’re not going to win.
Sharks vs Cheetahs in Durban
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Shaun Veldsman, Deon van Blommestein (both South Africa)
Television match official: Louis Mzomba (South Africa)
Assessor: James Apollis or SO Else (South Africa)
It’s the kaplan.
Cheetahs always win away when kaplan refs.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
13 Feb 2006, 11:35 am
OO
In agreement on MB. It was a strange game.I am not in favour of a kicking contest. WDW is one dimentional like DH. The Bulls were more competitive mainly as a result of an additional grinder like Van Scouwenburg (spelling?) on the lock. The Cheetahs made mistakes that has cost them the game. Two interceptions. The first a forced one after brilliant defence on Goodes and the second one out of desperation. The latter a good example of bad refereeing.
Liebenberg must play. If MB is selected at 10, I will play Goodes and Cook and good old Gaffie on the left wing.
13 Feb 2006, 11:49 am
Agree with Blueblood
Kaplan threw his whole reputation out the window in the CC final through the way he couldn’t deal with the FS foul play. Tappe “coach on the field” Henning also cannot be called SA’s no 1 ref. So that leaves the optometrist as our no1 ref? His only mistake might have been at the end of the last game with the short advantage played?
But far from as big a mistake as Kaplan that sent off Habana for a “high” tackle, because he got fed up with the niggling during the whole game. Cost a try in Habana’s corner and the entire CC season was messed up.
13 Feb 2006, 12:04 pm
The night before the game against the Sharks:
Girlfriend: Have another drink with me!
Cheetahs waterboy: I told you I cannot drink too much and I must g to bed early
Girlfriend: But you are only the waterboy?
Cheetahs waterboy: I know, but you know waht Rassie is like. There’s a 50/50 chance that I may have to play tomorrow.
Girlfriend: Oh no. Where do you think you’ll play?
Cheetahs waterboy: There’s a 50/50 chance that it’ll be in the front row… You know how we do things now that Rassie is in charge…
13 Feb 2006, 12:35 pm
Well all those that said my Sharks were gonna tast defeat, hope the humble pie tastes nice : )
13 Feb 2006, 13:21 pm
explansive = explosively expansive.
mahusive = massively bigger than huge.
CC-Sors. WDW is one dimensional, agreed. Hougaard looked positively dynamic alongside that plonker though.
I bet de Waal does the 100m in over 12 seconds. He’s a donkey. No doubt when his kicking game works, and the opposition have no counter he might look good. But it pains me that fellow South Africans have mentined him in the same breath as the Green and Gold. He’d be about 7th choice for me.
13 Feb 2006, 13:29 pm
Mielies !
13 Feb 2006, 13:56 pm
An explansive game plan could prove costly, in which case it would be explensive!
13 Feb 2006, 14:44 pm
Here’s a tip Rassie: If you kick away every bit of ball you get and don’t manage to retrieve the kick, you will lose!!!!!! Use it, don’t use it….. Up to you mate…….
13 Feb 2006, 17:31 pm
If the cheetahs kick all their ball away Russel and Mentz will be loving life. The cheetahs looked far more dangerous with ball in hand but then again so do the sharks who look great with ball in hand on attack but look rather thin when they have a defensive mindset(second half). This game could go either way, but I reckon Rassie is going to pull finger and the Cheetahs should win it. You never know though.
13 Feb 2006, 18:23 pm
The game will be decided on who scores first between the Cheetahs and Sharks.
The sharks need confidence as much as the cheetahs, so the blow will make or break either side.
Rassie better expect a surprise or two, and don’t expect **** to put a punt about foul play in the paper this week. Kaplan very easly swayed by “professional” comment outside the game.
He’s also swayed by watching 30 sweaty men on the field….
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.