WP wary of cornered Cheetahs

Western Province coach Allister Coetzee is expecting a tough game in Bloemfontein from a desperate Cheetahs side fighting to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Coetzee's side can secure a home semifinal with victory over the Free State side, but the Western Province coach knows that their opposition face a different type of pressure.

"They are sitting in a situation where it might be their last chance to stay in the competition, and from our point of view we want to continue with the way we have done it.

"We have got to make sure that we are ready for this one, we have lost there in Super Rugby, it is always a challenge and no Cheetah team should be written off so we will not fall into the trap of underestimating them," he said.

The Cape side went unbeaten through the round robin stages of the competition last year, and currently top the log by four points with just two games left before the play-offs, but Coetzee knows that it is important for them to maintain momentum going into the knock-out phase of the tournament.

"In the context of the competition it is a must-win game for us. You want to be in a position where you have options for your last round robin game to see what is transpiring with the other teams that are playing.

"When we win this weekend we will secure at least a home semifinal, and therefore it is vital for us to stay at the top of the log. We have got two more to go and it is important to stay on top of the log.

"This win will secure a home semi and it gives us an opportunity to stay at the top," he said.

Although the Cheetahs are known as a side that likes to run the ball, Coetzee warned that they have an impressive maul, compete well at the breakdown and can play a kicking game if required.

"We all know the Cheetahs as a side that goes coast to coast, they are a wide-wide team who up the tempo of the game. But of late they have got a very efficient driving maul and we have got to make sure that we are accurate in defending that.

"They are a team that is always hard on the ground, they have got Tienie Burger and Coenie [Oosthuizen], Torsten van Jaarsveld and even Francois Venter who are always contending at the breakdown.

"They might come with a strong kicking game, which was the case in Super Rugby, a territorial game. You think they will run the ball but they will kick a lot to put us under pressure like a suffocate and strangle type of thing," he said.

By Michael de Vries