Why Cheetahs were 'sweating bullets' in Bloem

The final scoreline, 66-14, suggests it was a cruise for the Cheetahs against the Lions in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

And, for the most part, the Cheetahs lived up to their pre-match favourites tags.

In the end, the Cheetahs reclaimed their place at the top of the standings after five rounds – overtaking the Sharks in first place on points difference, 86 (Cheetahs) to 44 (Sharks).

The weather-interrupted match was their fourth win in a row, but the home team was sweating bullets for reasons that had nothing to do with rugby.

The Cheetahs were scoring at almost a point a minute and were leading 17-0 (three tries) when the referee took the players off the field in the 19th minute – as the lightning strikes became too close to the stadium.

It was a player safety issue, but it almost robbed the home team of a comprehensive, bonus-point win.

SA Rugby’s Regulation Five stipulates that if the match reaches half-time, the result will stand.

However, the players also need to return to the field within 30 minutes after walking off, or the game would be cancelled.

The Cheetahs were well aware of this risk.

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Captain Ruan Pienaar admitted they were “a bit nervous” when the game was halted.

The skipper said they were just minutes away from time running out and the game being called off – before the players could return to the field.

“It was great to get 80 minutes,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “We needed that.

“With the long breaks between games, we needed game time – so it was great to finish the 80 minutes.”

He said there will always be aspects of the game they can improve on, but the most pleasing aspects is that they stuck to their structures and did not allow their own game to become sloppy.

Pienaar added that they will have to raise the bar in the next few rounds – when they face more demanding challenges against Western Province (in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, March 16), Sharks (Durban, March 23) and WP (Cape Town, April 16).

Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie said in his post-match reaction that he expected ‘more resistance’ from a Lions team that fielded a number of URC fringe players.

He added that because the Cheetahs had the correct ‘mindset’ they managed to achieve all their pre-match goals – which included a 50-point winning margin.

“The players made the decision to start really well,” the coach said, adding: “When the thunder and lightning came it was a really nervous period for me.

“I knew there were only 30 minutes until the game would be called off.

“As [captain] Ruan [Pienaar] said, it would have been really unfair if it happened.

“I started my stopwatch the moment the referee stopped the game. On 27 minutes we heard we could go back on the field, so we were really pleased about that.”

He said that the fast start helped, but they also wanted to avoid a repeat of their previous Currie Cup encounter with the Lions – when they also went three tries to nil up and the game ended in a 45-all draw with the Lions in a commendable comeback.

“We didn’t want to go that route again.

“It was a big focus for us not to let the Lions back in the game.”

For the visitors, this match will be remembered for all the wrong reasons – the 66 points they shipped are the most the men from Johannesburg have ever conceded in the Currie Cup.

Furthermore, the points’ difference of 52 is just two less than they 54 from their 59-5 defeat in 2006, which was also against the Free Staters.

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