JOHANNESBURG – There is one thing the Cheetahs are 100 percent certain about ahead of their clash with the Lions in the opening round of Super Rugby in Bloemfontein on Saturday: the Super Rugby Lions are a far stronger team than the one that played in the Currie Cup.
And, the Cheetahs are not taking them lightly and they’re not going to be lulled into thinking they’re not up against a very formidable outfit.
It would be easy for the Cheetahs to believe they have the edge over the Lions and will start as favourites on Saturday because they beat them handsomely in the semi-finals of the Currie Cup last season (55-17) – and went on to win the title – but the men from Bloemfontein know that Super Rugby and Currie Cup rugby are two vastly different competitions.
“We’re not reading anything into what happened against them in the Currie Cup,” said Cheetahs forwards coach Corniel van Zyl.
“The team they put out in the Currie Cup compared to the one that played in the final of the Super Rugby competition were very different sides. They had so many key players out in the Currie Cup, yet they still made the semis.
“It’s a huge challenge for us starting against last year’s finalists. But it’s also a good thing that we can measure ourselves against one of the best teams so early on… and maybe we’ll catch them a bit rusty which they won’t be once they strike form later on.”
Van Zyl said it would be important for the Cheetahs to start the 2017 competition strongly.
“It’s essential we get off well, especially at home. Winning at home is massive in this competition, but that said we also don’t want to put too much pressure on the players first up. There’s a long way to go.”
But the former lock forward, who turned out for Italy in the Test arena, said the Cheetahs’ win in the Currie Cup and the fact they went all the way unbeaten had boosted morale and given all the players a huge bout of confidence.
“One’s got to think we’re better off now than we were a year ago … winning a competition and not losing a match on the way must be massive. And yes, there is now perhaps an expectation that we’ll do well in Super Rugby, and the players have to deal with that pressure, but the reality is there is always an expectation from the fans, whether you win the Currie Cup or not. Fans always want their team to win … and that’s what we’ll try to do this season.”
Much of the focus in the pre-season was on improving the defence, something Van Zyl admits hasn’t always been up to standard.
“We’re pretty much going to try and build on what we did in the Currie Cup. Yes, this is different, but we still did a few things correctly last year,” he said.
“The culture, for one, that coach Franco (Smith) brought into the set-up must be built on in the coming months and then, of course, we’d like to see the guys continue with the attacking mindset we developed in the Currie Cup.
“But the defence was a problem in the past and we spent a lot of time in pre-season trying to sort it out … hopefully it’ll be better this year.”