Giant-killers target Chiefs
13 Apr 2009
The Cheetahs will ride the momentum of a shock victory over the Sharks into their next fixture against the Chiefs.
It was no controversial, narrow win in Bloemfontein. Juan Smith’s men thumped the tournament favourites 31-6 and in doing so proved they are not to be underestimated. They picked up the four-try bonus and limited the Sharks to just two Rory Kockott penalties.
It was embarrassing for the Sharks, but immensely satisfying for the local side.
‘It was a huge relief,’ Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie told keo.co.za. ‘We’ve always believed we had the ability despite our lack of results, so to come good like that was very satisfying.
‘Our lineout was very competitive and our defence off first phase really did the job. They weren’t allowed to build momentum and thus build a multi-phase attack.’
The Cheetahs have had their problems on defence, and so Saturday’s shut out will stand them in good stead for the coming game. Fourie, however, said the Sharks and Chiefs differ greatly in their approach.
‘We’ll take plenty of confidence from that performance, but the Chiefs are an entirely different prospect and are harder to defend against. They attack with a lot of variation, whereas a team like the Sharks like to bash it up through their big inside backs.
‘The Chiefs enjoy mixing it up, but they will miss [injured] players like Lelia Masaga and Sitiveni Sivivatu. Having said that, Dwayne Sweeney scored a hat-trick against the Lions two weeks ago and Sosene Anesi is another dangerous player. We won’t underestimate them, they are classy players in their own right.
‘It’s imperative that we pressure Brendan Leonard and Stephen Donald as that should in turn place the rest of their backs under pressure. Leonard likes to look for attacking options for himself before passing to Donald, and we’ll have to be wary of him around the fringes.’
Saturday’s result in Bloemfontein wasn’t a good one for South Africa, as the Sharks can now be overtaken should the Chiefs win well in Kimberley. But given the Cheetahs beat the Sharks, there’s no reason to believe they can’t upset the Chiefs.
‘I bet the Sharks were surprised as they expected to come to Bloemfontein and pick up five points,’ said Fourie. ‘But yes, it would be nice if we could help the Sharks and Bulls by beating the Chiefs this week.
‘However, it is more important that we play for ourselves. We want to play for a better log position and are aiming to win three of our last five games to ensure we finish the competition with 20 log points.’
Apart from a few bumps and bruises, the Cheetahs should have all 22 players available for the Chiefs clash. Danwel Demas, who was replaced by Basson for the Sharks game, is still battling with a hamstring ailment and did not train on Monday.
By Jon Cardinelli
105 Comments
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14 Apr 2009, 17:08 pm
15 Apr 2009, 13:29 pm
Unbelieveable, some people here blaming Cheetahs for trouncing Sharks. Good old whingeing.
I’d better blame Sharks for their total and utter indifference last weekend. If top dog capitulate so meekly to the dead and buried wooden spooner (and let’s not forget vice-spooners Reds – another meek/indifferent surrender), it is a shame of utmost proportions.
But it’s ok to blame mirror when face is ugly, isn’t it?
15 Apr 2009, 13:36 pm
#100 Nils:
Yes Nils, no excuse after that performance in Bloemfontein. But I do think it’s a bit difficult for us in SA to understand why the Cheetahs never play like that against team from Aus and NZ.
I’m sure you don’t have those problems with your local teams in Latvia.
15 Apr 2009, 14:07 pm
“Giant killers”? After 1 upset?
If they beat the Chiefs, which is highly unlikely, then they can be branded the name “Giant Killers”.
The Sharks came into the game over-confident and gave a below-par performance expecting an easy win. This gave the Cheetahs easier opponents. But nevertheless, Cheetahs did prove something Saturday.
I only have one question though. Is that enough to prove to SA rugby (and SA rugby fans) that they are capable and strong enough to compete in this competition?
Against the Brumbies, the cheetahs had under 3000 fans at home. yes, at their HOME stadium. Thats embarassing!
I suggest that SARU look at all 4 franchises closely. Rather strengthen each franchise by either combining them (Lions and cheetahs into CATS and giving place to Southern Kings) and give them something to play for than expecting them to be at the bottom, giving them 2000-1 odds of winning the competition.
15 Apr 2009, 17:11 pm
#101 Snoek: I’m not an expert in rugby teams in Latvia. As far as I know, we have 2/3 strong teams and all others fully amateurs.
Do not forget Cheetahs played at home – finally at long last after exausting tour for 1.5 months. Cheetahs played all those Aus/NZ teams away and they never win there, you know.
But they are not alone. Overall SA teams have poor to very poor record in Aus/NZ.
Sharks themselves cannot boast about success down there, especially in Australia, and they are much better outfit than Cheetahs. 2 wins from 17 or something in Aussieland games speak volumes. Ok, they did well in NZ this year for a change.
Much more interesting thing is how really good team and almost best contender for a title (not so sure now) can produce such a rubble against wooden spooners. No matter what motivates Cheetahs (local derbies always creates hot blood), more worryingly is – what completely DE-motivated Sharks.
Because professionals cannot stop emphasizing that underestimating opposition is key to embarassment. Sharks already had Reds lesson. Haven’t learned anything, it seems.
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