Cheetahs' flyhalf trial in Polokwane
Veteran journeyman Joe Pietersen could get a jump on his rivals in the Cheetahs' flyhalf race in the next few weeks.
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské, in an exclusive interview with rugby365, confirmed that the 30-year-old Pietersen is one of the players being considered as a starter in the No.10 jersey.
Elgar Watts, just a year the junior of Pietersen, won't be available till mid-March as a result of off-season surgery to repair a damaged knee.
That means Pietersen, rookie Willie du Plessis (24, who joined the Cheetahs after stints with the Blue Bulls and Golden Lions) and Francois Brummer (25, who has also been at a few teams without settling down) are the options ahead of their pre-season opener against the Bulls in Polokwane next week (January 24).
Drotské said he will be giving them all a run, before finalising the squad.
The Cheetahs kick-start their 2015 Super Rugby campaign against the Sharks in Durban on February 14 and it would not be a surprise if Pietersen is the first-choice flyhalf – given his extensive experience.
Although he has never started a Super Rugby game at flyhalf, he was used as a starting No.10 by Western Province in three Vodacom Cup games in 2006, two Currie Cup games in 2008 and in 2009 played six Vodacom Cup games as pivot.
His preferred positions are fullback and wing. However, he was often used as a first-receiver – off the bench or during games – in the more than 160 first-class matches for WP, Stormers, Bayonne and Biarritz.
His accuracy as a goal-kicker is another key factor that could decide the outcome of the flyhalf race.
Apart from Watts, the only other player set to miss the start of the season through injury is Sevens Springbok Johannes Prinsloo, who underwent groin surgery in the off-season. He is also scheduled to return in March.
Springbok loose forward Heinrich Brüssow and midfielder Johann Sadie are playing for the same club in Japan, the Red Hurricanes.
Their team is playing in the quarterfinals of the all-Japan Championship later this month (January 25). If the Hurricanes lose the two will return to Bloemfontein straight away. Alternatively they will be back only in February, depending on the team's progress in the play-offs.
Prop Nicolaas van Dyk, who signed with the Eastern Province Kings for the Currie Cup season, has been on loan to Irish province Leinster for a couple of months and will return for Super Rugby duty with the Cheetahs in the next week or so.
The Cheetahs started their pre-season build-up from November 13 to December 13 and the players returned last Monday (January 5), after working on personalised programmes during the break.
"We are well on track and very happy with where we are at the moment," Drotské told rugby365.
Pre-season games:
January 24: v Bulls in Polokwane
January 30: v Stormers in Cape Town
January 31: v with a B Team Griffons in Bloemfontein
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
