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Cheetahs primed for cat fight, while Griquas take on Bulls in Currie Cup
Although there are just five pool games left before the play-offs, the Cheetahs aren’t looking further than the weekends clash.
The Cheetahs celebrate a try during their Currie Cup, match against Western Province last weekend. Picture: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
The Cheetahs are primed for a cat fight in the Currie Cup on Saturday afternoon when they welcome the Lions to the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein for their match (kick-off 1pm), while the Griquas take on the Bulls at Griqua Park in Kimberley (kick-off 3:05pm).
The Cheetahs are the current pace setters in the Currie Cup and know that a victory over the Lions will keep them at the top of the table heading into the final few pool stage matches of the competition.
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However they are set for a tough battle against a Lions side that is expected to load their team with United Rugby Championship (URC) regulars as they chase a top four spot.
The battle up front is expected to be especially fierce, with Cheetahs prop Schalk Ferreira admitting they were ready for it.
“It is a massive challenge for us. We take pride in our tight facets, the scrums and lineouts. So we are ready for a big battle up front,” said Ferreira.
“We are expecting them to put out their best team and we want to play their best team and we know there is no such thing as an easy game for us until the end of the season.”
Although there are just five pool games left before the play-offs, Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie says that they aren’t looking further than the weekends clash.
Big game
“We don’t want to look too far ahead, but this is a big game for us. We only have two home games left (in the pool stage), and in my opinion we haven’t played well at home. So we have to rectify that and give our supporters something to cheer for,” said Fourie.
“We also need to get as many points as we can from are home games against the Lions and Griquas, because the away games against the Sharks and Bulls will be really tough.”
In Saturday’s other match the fourth placed Griquas take on the seventh placed Bulls in what should be an exciting match.
The Griquas want to hold onto their place in the play-off spots, but could come up against a strong Bulls team featuring a number of URC reinforcements.
