Western Province v Cheetahs - teams and prediction
CURRIE CUP ROUND NINE: Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie expects a “desperate” Western Province team to throw everything but the kitchen sink at them in Cape Town on Friday.
The home team finds themselves in a must-win situation – second from last in the standings with just one win and 12 points behind the fourth-placed Griquas.
WP know another defeat will end their play-off dreams in South Africa’s premier domestic competition.
Fourie also pointed out the Province “came close” in a number of games to upstage the opposition – such as their 34-45 loss at Loftus Versfeld last week, 17-24 loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and 20-22 loss to Griquas in Kimberley.
“They stretched the [table-topping] Bulls at Loftus,” the coach said, adding: “They got plenty of line-breaks and quick ball.
“We will need to be at our best if we want to beat them.
“They have a young and skilful side, with some experience – like Juan de Jongh and Timothy Swiel in the backline.”
He pointed to the many close contests between the teams from Cape Town and Bloemfontein in recent years, adding that it will require a mammoth effort.
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Province coach Jerome Paarwater, still smarting from a string of ’50-50 calls’ going against his team in recent matches, touched on the qualities that have seen the Cheetahs go unbeaten so far this season.
“We know what to expect,” said of a Cheetahs team determined to keep their winning streak.
He added that they are not happy with the run of defeats.
“We are not a bunch of losers,” Paarwater said, adding: “We are happy with the [quality of] the performance [against the Bulls last week], but we are not happy with the outcome.”
WP captain Nama Xaba also said they take ‘positives’ out of the performance against the Bulls, scoring the great tries.
“The positives would outweigh the loss,” Xaba said.
“If we can do that [again] tomorrow [Friday], hopefully, the outcome changes in our favour.”
The Cheetahs coach spoke of the ‘pros and cons’ of the three-week break since their Round Seven win (29-15) over the Sharks in Durban.
It allowed star playmaker Rosko Specman to recover fully from his concussion issues.
However, the bye last week also meant they needed to arrange an ‘opposed’ training session against the university team, Shimlas, last Thursday to remove some of the ‘rustiness’ as a result of no game time.
“It was a good session for us,” Fourie said, adding: “They also play a fast-paced game and ask different questions of our defence.”
Prediction
@rugby365com: Cheetahs by eight points
Teams
Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 David Brits, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Aidon Davis, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 /Marné Coetzee, 19 Ockie Barnard, 20 Mihlali Mosi, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Robert Ebersohn.
Western Province: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Timothy Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba.
Date: Friday, April 15
Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 16.45 (14.45 GMT)
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Dylen November, Local
TMO: Egon Seconds
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