Crunch time for the Cheetahs
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By Morgan Piek
The first home game of the season for the Cheetahs saw them facing the Bulls in Bloemfontein. This fixture is always poised to be a thrilling encounter. For sixty minutes of the game, the men from Bloemfontein and Kimberley had it in the bag. After that the Bulls came back to win a very hard fought and yet another epic match. All of a sudden, the Cheetahs had lost two games in a row, having lost to the Sharks a week earlier in Durban. Speaking to the match referee, Mr. Craig Joubert, after the game, he told me he sees it week in week out with the Cheetahs, they need to learn to play for more than sixty minutes. Never has a truer word been spoken.
This game did not come without a price. They lost their captain and Springbok loose-forward Juan Smith with a torn Achilles tendon. It is not the first time they have suffered such a big blow. We see it season after season. The critics, as always, were early to jump the gun and start pointing fingers at, poor conditioning and players being unfit. Having spoken to sources close to a few of the players’ personal physicians. It was discovered that this could not be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is they play the game too hard and are too physical.
Next, the men from Bloem were off to Cape Town to face the Stormers, who in all honestly have not looked fantastic all season despite losing only two games thus far. It was another nail-biter and another sixty-minute performance by the Cheetahs. Three games, three loses, and we were watching the same old movie we have been seeing the past five years. It was becoming clear that something is not right in the Cheetah camp and nobody could place his or her finger on the source of the problem. The obvious and easiest thing to do was to start blaming the coaching staff. Exactly what South Africans love doing, it is as South African as ‘‘Braaivleis’’ and Table Mountain. Losing to the Lions in Bloemfontein was the last thing they needed. Ahead of their overseas leg of the SuperXV, it was all doom and gloom.
The Cheetahs returned from their Australasian leg of the 2011 SuperXV a more positive and motivated team. They returned looking hungry and full of confidence. They proved to themselves and the Rugby World that they are good enough in all aspects of the game to take on the best. It started with their ‘shock’ win over the Waratahs, convincingly thumping the in form team from Sydney. The rest of the tour did not go quite as well. A heavy defeat at the hands of the very impressive Reds and two very close losses to both the Blues and the Highlanders. In Cheetah terms, they returned having a successful tour Down-under.
On a freezing Bloemfontein night, they faced off against the Hurricanes, narrowly losing the game in the dying seconds of the encounter. It is never nice losing such a high-scoring game. Taking the positive out of their defeat, they proved that they could score tries. The only thing still lacking was their defence. Two weeks later, they faced off against the Brumbies. The Brumbies have always been a quality outfit and will recover from this below par season after acquiring the services of World Cup winning coach Jake White. The Cheetahs started the game at a blistering place and the Brumbies looked shell-shocked. Poor defence allowed the men from the Australian Capital to draw back nicely and set up a humdinger. It was however too little too late and the Cheetahs beat them to the line. Things were starting to look good for the Cheetahs. The Ebersohn twins were combining well and Ashley Johnson had maintained his great form by having another cracking game. He would like to believe that he true Springbok material.
The following week they played the Lions away in Johannesburg and properly thumped them. I am not for one second going to kid myself or you by saying the Lions are a great side. However, the Lions proved this past weekend that they are capable of causing a few upsets by beating the Brumbies in Canberra. With John Mitchell at the helm, they have arguably the top coach currently in South Africa, if not the World. The Lions have what it takes. All they need is a bit of time and more experience.
Beating the Lions could not have prepared us for what we were about to witness a week later in Bloemfontein. Their next opponents were the mighty Crusaders. The Crusaders were fresh off a win against the Stormers in Cape Town, handing the Cape based franchise their second defeat of the season. The Crusaders were struggling with injuries, but that is no excuse. Even without Dan Carter and their inspirational skipper Richie McCaw out due to injury, there simply is no such thing as a ‘bad’ Crusaders side. The return of the two afore mentioned players was even more reason to believe the Cheetahs would have a torrid time against the men from Christchurch. This, however, was not the case. From the word go the Cheetahs played like men possessed. There was one goal and one goal only. Win this game at all costs.
Having watched the game twice I could not pick up a flaw in the Cheetahs game. The scrums and lineouts were both good. The attack and defence were both spot-on as well. They were even able to neutralise the much-feared Sonny Bill Williams thanks to valuable advice from former Springbok and Cheetahs centre, Brendan Venter. It was a polished performance. The Cheetahs have now won three games on a trot. It is first time in their Super Rugby history. This has put them in the position where they stand an outside chance of making the play-offs, provided they win all their remaining games with bonus points. It is a tall order but they have proven they have what it takes.
Interestingly enough Sias Ebersohn and become the first player in Super Rugby history to score more than twenty points in four consecutive matches. Sias and his twin brother Robert both scored a try in the match against the Crusaders making them the first set of twins to score a try in one match in Super Rugby. Heinrich Brussow unfortunately again picked up an injury and will miss the next three to four weeks due to a hamstring injury he picked up early in the match. Luckily, for the Cheetahs they have some depth in the loose-forward department.
The will Cheetahs be playing against the Rebels on Saturday. This should hand the home side their fourth consecutive victory. The Rebels have not been finding their first Super Rugby season to be a walk in the park. They are still every inexperienced as unit, although they have veterans like Stirling Morlock and Greg Somerville in their ranks. Inconsistency is proving to be the Rebels Achilles heel. The Cheetahs should not be too complacent though, the team Melbourne has shown that they can win games. Even when trailing by thirty points at half time. This should be a nice lead up to their showdown against the Bulls at Loftus next weekend. If they can win this, it will set up two very interesting games to finish off the round robin part of the competition. They will host both the Sharks and the Stormers at home. This could very possibly top off what could be their most successful season ever in Super Rugby.
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