Johannesburg – The celebrations had hardly started and the tears of joy had not even dried from their smiling faces before Free State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith told his side not to dwell too much in the moment of their perfect Currie Cup triumph.
As much as their unblemished domestic campaign represented the coming of age of a young but talented team, Smith said winning the Currie Cup was just a step in the right direction and that the true test of how good his team is will come in next year’s Super Rugby campaign when they come up against New Zealand sides.
But there was nothing to be downplayed about how the Cheetahs achieved the perfect 10, blowing away all of their opposition.
This included a stubborn Blue Bulls team that only conceded defeat in the latter stages of the match in an entertaining 36-16 win for the Cheetahs in front of a capacity crowd at the Free State Stadium.
It was the Cheetahs’ fifth domestic title and by far their greatest hour in the illustrious history of the oldest domestic competition in the world. But for Smith this should serve as a springboard for greater things to come in their ambition of trying to win a Super Rugby title.
“There is still a lot of work to be done and the players can be glad there is no review on Monday,” said Smith in the aftermath of their win on Saturday. “I think we were nervous and we made a lot of the mistakes we made in Super Rugby actually. That means that you should be comfortable in the pressure situations to revert to the new way of doing things and not to the old ways.
“There is still a lot of work to be done but obviously belief is the first ingredient in success and I believe we have been able to keep that during this year’s tough Super Rugby season and in these 10 games. That is the thing that we want to take forward from here.”
The Cheetahs have followed in the footsteps of last year’s champions the Golden Lions in accomplishing a flawless season and Smith gave praise to his group of youngsters for the hard work they put in against teams that played with pedigree and some superstars.
“Obviously it is nice to have a team that is unbeaten. It never counted for us to be unbeaten until the final and to win it was important.
“We came with a plan 16 months ago and we said this is what we are going to do and we let a lot of the senior players go to start with a bunch of new guys. It is important to know that if you work hard at something you can achieve it and that is what the Cheetahs stood for this whole season. You don’t have to have a name or be the best, you just have to work hard and that was the story of the final,” Smith said.
Over and above the Cheetahs triumph being so convincing, Smith joins a rare club of individuals who have won the Currie Cup as a player and as a coach even though his win as a player came during his time with the Pretoria based union.
“It was just as special winning it as a player with the Bulls as it is now coaching the Cheetahs. This win was very special because here in Bloemfontein we have been in need of two things, the rain and winning the Currie Cup. I’ve always said that rugby is a vehicle in changing people’s lives for the better,” said Smith.
With all of the current crop of Cheetahs players signed to stay in Bloemfontein for the foreseeable future, Smith now needs to work his magic to ensure that his team play with the same verve and belief in Super Rugby next year.
Cape Times