Cheetahs hopeful on Frans Steyn return
REACTION: The Cheetahs are hopeful that Springbok star Frans Steyn will recover from injury in time for the Currie Cup semifinals.
The Springbok has been sidelined for three weeks following the hamstring injury he sustained during the 18-46 loss to Griquas a fortnight ago.
Consequently, the two-time World Cup-winning veteran missed last Friday’s defeat to the Pumas and is set to miss the final round-robin fixture against the Bulls this Saturday.
Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie believes his team will cope without the Bok star.
However, he remains hopeful that Steyn will return for the semifinals.
“Frans Steyn will hopefully be ready for the semifinal,” Fourie said.
“Chris Smith and Robert Ebersohn performed really well against the Pumas.
“Think we can manage without Frans and hopefully he will be ready for the play-offs.”
Coach Hawies gives his breakdown of the Toyota Cheetah’s performance after the Pumas managed to win by one point in episode 10 of the #CoachingLegends.
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The Cheetahs do face a mini injury crisis, especially when it comes to flyhalf.
The 25-year-olf Reinhardt Fortuin injured his quad during training and George Lourens had to make his debut against the Pumas.
Siyabonga Masuku was also absent during the 28-29 loss to Pumas due to illness.
The coach admitted it is unclear how long Fortuin’s injury lay-off will last.
However, praised Lourens for his cameo in the number 10 jersey.
“George did well and he didn’t train in the run-on side. We had a walkthrough before on Friday.
“I think that he can be proud of his first game for the Cheetahs and it was definitely not his fault that we lost the game.”
Commenting on the upcoming match against the Bulls, Fourie said it is going to be a challenging assignment after consecutive defeats to Griquas and Pumas.
“It is back-to-back losses,” Fourie said, adding “If we get five points against the Bulls we can still finish at the top of the Currie Cup.
“However it will be a tough task and we have a lot of work to do.
“Against the Pumas we conceded turnovers and we were losing at the beginning of the game.
“Think we gave the Pumas a sniff and they are a dangerous team with a very good backline and a good pack of forwards.”
The Cheetahs host the Bulls on Saturday at the Free State stadium in Bloemfontein.
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