Cheetahs set to run wild
Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie believes that the fact that neither his side or the Waratahs have anything to lose will make for an open, running game in Bloemfontein this weekend.
Both teams employed fairly conservative tactics in their recent matches against the Stormers at Newlands, using contestable kicks to try and find a way through the Cape side's formidable defence.
However, both teams had to leave Cape Town with just a losing bonus point to show for their efforts and considering the fact that they are both out of the running for a place in the play-offs Fourie believes that the time is right for them to cut loose.
The Cheetahs assistant coach revealed that the two teams bumped into one another in Cape Town the day after the Cheetahs lost to the Stormers, and both head coaches spent some time discussing the best way to take the Stormers on, which may have had an influence on the tactical kicking strategy that Berrick Barnes and co brought to Newlands on Saturday.
He told this website: "I saw that their coach [Michael Foley] spoke to Naka [Drotske] – we were in the same hotel on the Sunday morning after our game against the Stormers – so I think they copied a bit of what we tried to do against the Stormers.
"The Stormers have got a very good defence so you have to try and find other ways to break it down, so I think the Waratahs also used contestable kicking to try and do that, and I think the Stormers were also expecting that and worked on it during the week because they were better at handling it against the Waratahs than they were against us," said Fourie.
However, things should be much different this weekend as neither side has anything to lose so the Cheetahs backline mentor is predicting the floodgates to open at the Free State Stadium.
He explained: "I am expecting quite an open, running game. I think both teams are out of the play-off mix, and both sides have been quite unlucky this year, the Waratahs have also lost a number of close games against good opposition so they have got a quality side.
"They are sort of in the same boat as us – they are out of contention for the play-offs so they should try to spread it wide. They are not scared to play in their own half so I expect quite a lot of ball-in-hand rugby on the weekend. I think it will be a great game to watch," said Fourie.
The Cheetahs assistant coach knows that his team are in for another rough day at the office as the Waratahs have a host of physical ball-carriers that will expose them just as ruthlessly as the Sharks did last week unless they tighten things up.
"The Sharks got momentum from just about every phase last week, and if we want to win against sides like them and the Waratahs this weekend then we will have to be better on defence.
"They [Waratahs] have got a lot of good ball-carriers who can make an impact. Guys like Rocky Elsom, Dave Dennis and Tatafu Polota-Nau who should be ready to play against us. They have got a lot of power up front and a good scrum as well so we will have to be up for this game," he said.
Fourie said that he was happy with new flyhalf Riaan Smit's showing against the Sharks and said that although he can improve certain key areas of his game as he gains more exposure, Sias Ebersohn will continue in his role as an impact player off the bench.
He said: "I think he [Smit] has done well, he did a few good things on attack but I think he will have to improve his defence a little bit from first-phase and control the game a bit better in our own 22 – there were one or two phases where he should have kicked the ball and we played too much rugby in our 22, but apart from that I think he had quite a good game under a lot of pressure.
"Sias went through a bad patch after that kick that he missed against the Highlanders, and then he didn't play all that well in the first half against the Stormers, but he is a quality player and from a coaching side we will have to manage him and get him back to his best.
"For the moment I think it is better for him to play off the bench and bring him on in the second half, he played well and kicked well when he came on against the Sharks and he has been kicking well at training so I think it is just a matter of time before he is at his best again," added Fourie.
By Michael de Vries
