Cheetahs regret poor concentration
12 Mar 2007
Naka Drotske believes three lapses by the Vodacom Cheetahs cost them the win last Saturday.
The Sharks ran out 30-14 winners, a victory that sees them well placed at second spot on the Vodacom Super 14 log.
Drotske told Keo.co.za the match was much closer than the scoreline suggests and but for two defensive lapses and an intercept try, it would have been far tighter.
“The Sharks have shown they are a very tough team and they deserved the win,” he said. “But looking at the video and seeing how much possession we had and the way they scored those three tries was very frustrating.”
The Durban side scythed through the Cheetahs midfield all too easily and some good support play ensured they rounded off the score on two occasions. Both Jacques Botes and Waylon Murray completed tries in this manner, while JP Pietersen intercepted a loose pass on the hour to extend the Sharks lead.
“To go through a backline like that off first phase ball is almost like winning a tighthead in the scrum. It doesn’t happen too often.
“The intercept was also disappointing, as we were on the attack and only 14-20 behind at that stage. All three tries are examples of poor concentration.”
The midfield defence has been a major concern this season. Rassie Erasmus has experimented with two different combinations, both of which have been inconsistent. The Cheetahs do not have the worst defensive record in the tournament in terms of tries conceded, but the missed tackles statistic is alarmingly high.
“We’ve worked so hard in this department, and so it is really unacceptable that the players miss first time tackles,” Drotske said.
The Cheetahs play the Brumbies this Saturday before they tour Australasia. The men from Canberra have struggled to score tries, but the three they picked up against the Vodacom Stormers will give them plenty of confidence, and Erasmus needs to find some defensive answers very quickly over the next week.
By Jon Cardinelli
44 Comments
12 Mar 2007, 15:20 pm
HAd to consentrate to get this Dragons!!
12 Mar 2007, 15:27 pm
Where to now for the Cheetahs? Does Rassie have enough left to let them bounce back?
12 Mar 2007, 15:30 pm
Cheetahs moet passop virrie toer down under. Dinge kan leklik loop as hul verwag die Aussies gaat nie perform nie!!
Aussies kan nog steeds n baie goeie toesspan in die veld stoot. Die ekstra span (Force) het die krag v Aussie rugby net versprei en as hul vd ou manne kan ontslae raak gaan hul wragtag goed wees in die TNations. IMO
12 Mar 2007, 15:32 pm
I think their main problem is the coaching staff’s inability to find the correct combinations especially at centre. Before the competition we had to read in the press (Volksblad) about their abundance of available talent. I fear that if they loose again on Saturday, we may see 6 more defeats on tour.
12 Mar 2007, 15:42 pm
Juan Smith having an outstanding season himself even though Cheetahs not performing as expected….
12 Mar 2007, 15:48 pm
Cheetahs should give sharks more credit, they were outplayed by the better side.
Maybe Rassie isn’t all he is cracked up to be if you take a look at his overall record as a Super 14 coach
19 games in total to date
7 Wins
[ 4 against SA sides, 1 against Kiwi and 2 wins against an Aussie side ]
11 Losses
1 Draw
It doesn’t look to bad except when you look at who the wins were against.
12 Mar 2007, 15:54 pm
Ig,
Rassie is a youngster – give him time. He’ll get wiser.
12 Mar 2007, 15:55 pm
Staal – don’t dispute that, just thought that
A – The cheetahs could have been grateful in defeat
B – Maybe its time to stop thinking of Rassie as a wonder boy that can cure all our ills
12 Mar 2007, 16:00 pm
Rassie wil nie luister nie…..hy spog so oor Herkie Kruger se verdediging, maar die meeste gate in die middeveld is waar hy verdedig.
Ek het dit voorheen gese en gaan dit weer se….Herkie Kruger is uiters k@k !!
Vrystaat betaal ten duurste vir Hendrik Meyer, maar meneer Erasmus gebruik hom nooit nie !!
Ek begin al uitsien na die Curriebeker, sodat Herkie Kruger net kan teruggaan Griekwas toe !!
My voorstel, gebruik vir Hendrik Meyer en Marius Joubert as ‘n senter kombinasie !!
Ek is ‘n Cheetah ondersteuner, maar my hart bloei vir hierdie “paloekas” wat Saterdag na Saterdag op die veld draf en pakslae kry !!
12 Mar 2007, 16:02 pm
Ig with you on point B.
Years ago i had lunch with a few boks (including Ray Mordt) and we spoke about the fact that you’re opponent work your game plan out in a year or 2. We’ll this might be what’s happening with Rassie.
Now he will have to “adapt or die”
12 Mar 2007, 16:03 pm
#9 – now you know how us stormers supporters feel.
12 Mar 2007, 16:04 pm
Rassie, jy sit met JW Jonker en Alwyn Hollenbach…gebruik hulle of is jy ook besig om ‘n Jake White te word !!
12 Mar 2007, 16:06 pm
12 KC,
Hollenbach is n skitterende speler IMO. Ek hoop hy kry meer gametime.
12 Mar 2007, 16:06 pm
Staal – yup that might well be the case, i think Rassie has enough in the tank to come good. The only thing that bugs me about the Cheetahs game plan at the moment is they don’t have anyone straightening up the line – they go side to side to get width but hell you need to move forward as well.
12 Mar 2007, 16:07 pm
Martin,
Exactly and it’s pissing me off if you sit with talent but never use them.
For f@rk sakes look at **** Muir, he ain’t scared to throw in the youngsters !!
12 Mar 2007, 16:07 pm
i say let me get a coaching job i will kick butt the karoo klipdrifts
12 Mar 2007, 16:09 pm
14 Ig,
we spoke about it saturday – the Cheatahs won enough ball but the backs were way behind the a-line. They should have played it more flat – but they got tackled without getting over the a-line.
A bit like the Bulls of old.
12 Mar 2007, 16:11 pm
Ek moet die Bulls en Sharks ‘n pluimpie gee, hulle impress my erg **** !!
Fourie du Preez was world class Saterdag !!
Fourie du Preez en Ruan Pienaar MOET die skrumskakels wees vir die WC in September, as Bolla of Ricky dit maak, kou ek my polse af !!
12 Mar 2007, 16:15 pm
Ek se nogsteeds, die BLUES gaan die S14 wen !!
12 Mar 2007, 16:23 pm
18 KC,
Dan kan jy maar begin kou ou maat JW gaan vir Januarie kies. Verseker!!
12 Mar 2007, 16:30 pm
Cheetas se wedstryd het later uiters stereotiep geraak in die laaste minute.Hulle het genoeg bal gehad maar probeer elke keer maar net met n eentonige backline beweging langs die lyn af tot by die vleuel.Geen variasies.
Lyk my hulle speel ook net soos Rassie vir hulle se en probeer niks anders uit eie inisiatief nie.
n Mens kan nie voor die tyd besluit jy sal niks skop nie and dan vir die vrek nooit skop al kom die opsie as n goeie een voor.
Kannie so S14 speel en wen nie.
12 Mar 2007, 16:49 pm
Hendro Scholtz played a blinder on Saturday. Straight hard running, excellent defence and good turn overs. It is a pity that he is so injury prone.
12 Mar 2007, 16:57 pm
22 loosehead,
the problem is that Rassie can’t wait till he’s fully recovered so he’s playing with injuries. That doesn’t help.
12 Mar 2007, 17:21 pm
Staal, perhaps like the Aussies, South Africa just doesn’t have the quality players to support the extra S14 team? Should we not rather each give a team up and have 2 Argie teams based in SA?
12 Mar 2007, 17:25 pm
loosehead,
We can do with giving up 1 S14 team and 6 CC teams. It’s actually ridiculous what’s happening.
Everyone wants strength vs strength but surely that means less teams all in all!?
I mean have you ever heard of a bigger contradiction in terms than:
THE MIGHTY ELEPHANTS.
lol
12 Mar 2007, 17:33 pm
The top 4 teams in the CC should play S14, with them being able to draft players in from the teams who did not make it. This would however mean that this years undefeated side would actually not be in the S14.
12 Mar 2007, 17:39 pm
26 loosehead,
groot moeilikheid virrie span daar onder met die Berg as dit gebeur?
12 Mar 2007, 17:59 pm
Ja, hulle sal moet gou vinger uit trek. Ek dink dat hulle seisoen klaar is. Hulle kort ‘n stut of twee, ‘n coach en ‘n nuwe houding. Ek dink dat as Mallett die kans kry sal hy in Frankryk gaan soek vir een of twee harde barde om voor ry te kom speel.
12 Mar 2007, 18:26 pm
Problem is the Sharks tries were brumbie’esque. That is how the brumbies run, good angles and off first phase posession.
If the cheetas don’t sort it out, they will leak more on Sat.
12 Mar 2007, 19:15 pm
die Haaie!!!!
12 Mar 2007, 22:35 pm
#6 ig
Maybe you needto get a bit of perspective and give credit where credit us due.
A- Rassie is still a very young coach, but has already achieved so much especially in the domestic competition.
B – The s14 is the toughest school in which to learn. The cheetah’s have been particularly hard hit by injuries
C- Rassie has moulded unheralded players and moulded them into a good team. He doesn’t have all the super stars, but he gets the most out of them. to me that is a sign of a good coach.
D- read the article that gavin rich wrote on Supersport zone, and you will see that Rassie was praising the sharks, and **** Muir. I think you are trying to create a perception that doesn’t exist. not once has Rassie blamed anybody for his losses. He has taken the blame. maybe you you should read more articles, before posting rubbish
13 Mar 2007, 01:38 am
Rassie strikes me as someone with HUGE potential as a coach. SA’s answer to Robbie Deans, perhaps. But it’s a fact that he was by far the biggest drag-anchor at the Cats when Laurie Mains was their coach and Rassie his skipper.
Rassie would undermine his coach regularly and would be the electromagnet right at the middle of the anti-Laurie Brommende-Afrikaner clique.
Gnarly Laurie Mains is, admittedly, a very, very hard man to like, but there is no serious debate about the fact that he is a brilliant and visionary coach. At that point Rassie was a mere green snotkop but with a major attitude — rather like Fluke Wotsup is today.
13 Mar 2007, 02:05 am
Agree with article. Cheetahs were the better team and Sharks were lucky. Naka is correct to be dissapointed. How the Sharks expect to win without the ball is anyones guess.
Only reason the Sharks will go further than Cheetahs is depth. (money)
13 Mar 2007, 02:09 am
Who cares about laurie mains and excusses from a bygone era of unrealised potential.
Mains had players, money etc and underperformed. Better coaches do more with less. Mains record with cats speaks for itself. FLOP.
Eloff with less is doing far more than Mains.
13 Mar 2007, 06:07 am
#29 And with one of the best centres in the world.
13 Mar 2007, 08:35 am
Eva – stop taking it so personally, it seems in this fine land of ours Rassie is beyond criticism, Agreed he has done fantastically well in the CC.
I like Rassie as a coach, i think he tries to be innovative and the Cheetahs look like they coached well, maybe to well.
And his record at Super14 level speaks for itself – 3 wins against international sides in 18 games.
Its a fact – Rassie has been struggling at this level.
13 Mar 2007, 08:55 am
Ig, don’t think it is a case of him being beyond criticism but you have to put it into context as well. First of all compare his results with some other current/past coaches of SA franchises. A few of them have cruised through a whole tournament with between 0 and 1 win for the season.
Then you look at the FS, as far as money goes they are still well behind all the other franchises, in their second year they are all but just beginning to build some sort of a squad with enough depth. With limited funds it will take time. Injuries have played havoc with them, maybe the toll is not necessarily the biggest but without the depth it makes it more difficult.
That all said and done, the honeymoon is all but over and the knives will come out soon enough if supporters feel it is taking all to long…its a SA thing!
13 Mar 2007, 08:56 am
IG,spot on.
IMO Rassie’s biggest stuff up has been leaving De Waal out of the starting 15 for much of the comp.
Herkie is average average average,much like Peter Grant.
13 Mar 2007, 08:57 am
Good point Koos.Makes you wonder how he would do if he had the Stormers player budget,not to the mention that f*cking mountain everyone always harps on about.
13 Mar 2007, 09:01 am
Eish London, he would not know what to do with all the money…they can keep the mountain, Bloem has Naval Hill!!!
13 Mar 2007, 10:25 am
#36 Ig
Not taking it personal Ig, just narks me that people say he is ungracious in defeat, when he always says honestly what he feels. Not once have i heard him blame the ref, make lame excuses.
I agree with Koos, Rassie considering his budget, and players at his disposal does well. He will learn and get better. He has had major injuries to stalwarts, but he does’t lament this fact all day, he just soldiers on.
He will grow as a coach, because he is prepared to learn from others
13 Mar 2007, 10:33 am
eva – i see your point and concede to your argument.
13 Mar 2007, 21:46 pm
SO it was only lapses of concentration and not a crappy defensive pattern? Or poor defensive players in general? Despite the fact that they did it TWICE? Sounds like it is more than just a lapse in concentration- sounds like someone needs their ASSES KICKED!
14 Mar 2007, 02:36 am
Having said that, I agree that at least he is smart enough to learn, and humble enough to look for answers from others.
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