Don’t slip on same banana skin

JOE'S BACK IN TOWN: Joe Pietersen slips past Elgar Watts during a recent Cheetahs training session. Photo: Johan Pretorius, Gallo Images

JOE'S BACK IN TOWN: Joe Pietersen slips past Elgar Watts during a recent Cheetahs training session. Photo: Johan Pretorius, Gallo Images

Published May 28, 2015

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John Goliath

IT DOESN’T take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Stormers’ defeat to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein earlier this season really hurt them.

It left a bit of a scar, a mental scar that has become visible again ahead of the two teams’ meeting at Newlands on Saturday afternoon.

The significance of that defeat is not lost to anyone in the Stormers’ camp, as they would have been in a much stronger position had they managed to complete the job in Bloemfontein. They would have had sole possession of second place, and have more than just one hand on the South African Conference.

That’s why the Stormers have been talking about making amends for that performance, because they can’t afford another slip-up against this Cheetahs side, who will be without many of their big guns on Saturday.

Another shock defeat to the Cheetahs will again open the door for the Lions and the Bulls in the race for the South African Conference. So, the Stormers need to tiptoe past this banana skin on Saturday.

“We were very disappointed about the way we played in Bloem. It wasn’t expected, because we had a good week leading up to the Cheetahs game,” backs coach Robbie Fleck said this week.

“They are always tough to beat, which we have experienced in the past. But we had a hard look at ourselves and we have improved since then. There were certain areas we needed to improve, because we were a bit impatient.

“They capitalised on our mistakes,” Fleck added.

The Cheetahs, like in the first meeting in Bloemfontein earlier this year, have absolutely nothing to lose. It makes them a dangerous team, a team who will chance their arm and play with a bit of freedom.

They will also want to give their coach and Free State legend Naka Drotske a lovely send-off, as he will be overseeing the team for the last time on Saturday.

Playing the situation is the Drotske way. And goodness knows, he will want to go out in the only way he knows how against a team he has enjoyed playing against.

Drotske will also have a general on the field who knows all four corners of Newlands like the back of his hand.

In Joe Pietersen, Drotske has a man who can burn the opposition with his accurate goal-kicking or his running game. But the burden of trying to spark this team on his own may be a lot to ask of the blond No 10, especially because the Cheetahs don’t have Springboks Teboho Mohoje, Coenie Oosthuizen, Heinrich Brussow, Willie le Roux and Cornal Hendricks to call on this weekend.

Fleck, however, says they won’t be swept up in all the emotion of the occasion, as they will keep their players focused on the job at hand.

“From their side there might be a lot of emotion, but we are clearly focussing on getting our game right and keeping our team nice and calm for the weekend,” the former Bok centre said.

“Whatever emotion they bring to the game, it’s their business. From our side, we need to pick up our performance from the Bloemfontein game and we need to keep improving.”

As Fleck mentioned, they lacked a bit of patience in Bloemfontein on attack. But that has been the case throughout the season.

The Stormers seem to be better on the counter-attack, but against a side with a terrible defensive record like the Cheetahs, you also have to make the play and try and make inroads from set-pieces, and finish off tries when you get into the red zone.

To be quite frank, it’s going to be quite a feat by the Cheetahs to come to Newlands and put one over the Stormers by just playing with emotion and relying on Pietersen for the odd moment of brilliance.

The Cheetahs came unstuck last week at home against the Lions. So this weekend the Stormers need finish the job, because the Cheetahs are there for the taking.

In the teams’ last seven meetings in Super Rugby in Cape Town, the Cheetahs have managed just one win – back in 2006 when they won 31-25. By the end of the weekend that record should read: played eight, won one. Farewell or no farewell.

CHEETAHS TEAM FOR

NEWLANDS:

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Francois Uys (capt), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Mienie. Bench: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Coenie van Wyk, 23 Rayno Benjamin.

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