Wake-up call for Cheetahs

The Cheetahs best heed the wake-up call they received from the Southern Kings last week or they'll face serious heartache against the Pumas.

The Cheetahs and Pumas go head-to-head in a Super Rugby pre-season outing in Bloemfontein on Saturday – the game was moved from Parys to the Old Greys sports grounds after the decision by the Free State provincial Government to postpone the annual Reconciliation Cup to a later date.

However, the change in venue does not change the importance of the outing one iota.

While the Pumas are keen to test themselves against a Super Rugby outfit ahead of their return to the Currie Cup competition later this year, the Cheetahs feel they are well off the pace and need a dramatic improvement.

Despite missing nearly half their first-choice team, Cheetahs assistant coach Hawies Fourie warned that the men from Nelspruit will present his team with an even bigger challenge than the Kings did last week.

The Pumas are without the services of Vincent Koch, Frankie Herne  and Marcello Sampson (unavailable due to injury), while four others – Corne Fourie, Rudi Matthee, Stefan Watermeyer and Francois de Klerk – are on duty with the Lions Super Rugby outfit.

"They are a well-coached team and know exactly what they want to do," Fourie told this website, when asked about the depleted Pumas outfit visiting Bloemfontein on Saturday.

"They have been together for a few years now," he said, adding: "No doubt they will be a tougher test than what the Kings were last week."

The Cheetahs backline mentor said it is exactly what they want this stage of the season.

"In a way it is good that there are some issues and problems, and that everything doesn't go smoothly.

"[If it goes too well in the pre-season] then you get to the competition proper and suddenly realise you have shortcomings.

"The Southern Kings tested us last week and we got a lot out of that game to work on ahead of the Pumas clash."

He said it was a good wake-up call and they now know exactly where they are at.

"We are not nearly as good as we thought we were," Fourie told this website, adding: "We are a long way off our best and will have to improve a lot in the next fortnight."

The Cheetahs start their Super Rugby campaign against the Lions in Bloemfontein on February 15.

Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse also saw the positives of taking a depleted team to Bloemfontein.

"You want to measure yourself at that level, but we have to keep in mind that this is our first game and their third of the season," the forthright Pumas mentor told this website.

"We have at least seven players who could start, that are not available this weekend," he said of the likes of Koch, Herne , Sampson, Fourie, Matthee, Watermeyer and De Klerk.

"However, it helps you test your depth.

"In the Currie Cup [competition] that is vital, if your frontline players get injured you must know what the other players are capable of.

"It is important for us, even though it is our first game of the season, to see how our [back-up] players cope at this level."

Stonehouse is also keen to see how his pack performs against the highly-rated Cheetahs forwards – especially in the scrums.

"In the scrums we struggled last year," the Pumas coach said, adding: "We would like to see how Drew van Coller, who made a big impact [in the promotion-relegation games] against Griquas, stands up to the test [of playing against a front row with two Springboks].

"Obviously we would like to win the game, but the most important aspect for me is to see how we perform against these guys.

"We know our team can be more powerful than this, but it will give us a good indication of our depth."

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter Labuschagné, 6 Jean Cook, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.

Replacements – from: Ryno Barnes, Trevor Nyakane, Rynhardt Landman, Johannes Prinsloo, Sarel Pretorius, Elgar Watts, Rayno Benjamin, Riaan Smit, Maks van Dyk.

Pumas: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Deon Scholtz, 10 JC Roos, 9 Sinovuyo Nyoka, 8 RW Kember, 7 Renaldo Bothma, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3 Drew van Coller, 2 Jacques Momberg, 1 Sabelo Nhlapo.

Replacements – from: Dee-Jay Terblanche, Stephan Kotzé, Christo le Roux, Uzair Cassiem, Jaco Bouwer, Reynier van Rooyen, Justin van Staden, Ashwin Scott.

Date: Saturday, February 1

Venue: Old Greys sports grounds, Bloemfontein

Kick-off: 16.45 (14.45 GMT)

Referee: Lesego Legoete

By Jan de Koning