The Cheetahs are bottom of their Challenge Cup pool, after losses to Exeter Chiefs and Stade Francais, and likely need to beat Ulster and Racing 92 to make the playoffs.
Disappointed Cheetahs coach Frans Steyn says that he and his team will have to reflect on their Challenge Cup defeat against Stade Francais over the weekend, after it left their hopes of reaching the competition playoffs in tatters.
The Cheetahs have picked up zero points from their first two pool games, suffering heavy defeats against Exeter Chiefs (42-12) in England, followed by Saturday’s 45-22 loss in the Netherlands.
Usually to make the Challenge Cup playoffs, teams need to win at least two pool games, so that leaves the Cheetahs with no wiggle room in their next two matches, against Ulster in Amsterdam and Racing 92 in Paris.
Rock bottom
Currently the Cheetahs are rock bottom of their six-team pool, with the top four making it to the knockouts, and with Cardiff fourth on five points, they have a mountain to climb in their next two matches to have any chance.
Steyn said his team would be taking stock over the next few weeks, before they resumed in the new year. He felt they couldn’t blame the latest performance on missing a few key players, like veteran Victor Sekekete, and that they needed to get better to give themselves a chance in the competition.
“I don’t think we are going to hit the reset button. I think we are going to think about this one for a while. I am going to play this one over and over so that we try not to make the same mistakes when we get back here,” explained Steyn.
“We have a great side and everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, and we need to play more to that. But we continuously put ourselves under pressure. We have to handle those things better and be better.
“We definitely missed Victor (Sekekete) but we are all paid to do a job. When one goes down, the other one needs to step up. I am obviously frustrated with the result. Only after watching the video will I get a better idea (of where we can improve).”
Inconsistent performances
The frustration for the former Springbok World Cup winner came from the competitiveness the Cheetahs showed in two halves of rugby, while falling apart in the other two and losing their games, which was a pity as they were trying to prove they belonged at this level.
Against Exeter it was a disastrous first half that saw the hosts leading 35-7 at the break, before a much improved second half from the Cheetahs saw them eventually edged 7-5 in the second period.
But against Stade Francais it was the other way round, with the Cheetahs edging a tight first half 17-14, before the French visitors ran in four tries and 31 unanswered points in the second half to tear into a 45-17 lead, with Jandre Nel then scoring a late consolation try.
“If we had a few more moments like Jandre Nel’s try, it would have been fun, but at the moment it is not fun,” admitted a despondent Steyn.
“We had it, and at some point we need to switch on and start delivering proper performances because at the moment we are not proving a point to anybody.”
