Currie Cup
FS not taking Pumas lightly
2011-10-06 19:00
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Bloemfontein - The Free State Cheetahs would like to secure a Currie Cup semi-final spot with a win over the Pumas in Friday's rugby match in Witbank.
The side's coach Naka Drotské, however, said they were aware of the dangers the Mpumalanga team posed.
"The Pumas have shown they are a dangerous side on their home ground but we are looking for the bonus point win," Drotské said on Thursday.
"That should more or less put us in the play-offs."
Drotské said the Pumas had shown in their 34-31 away win over the Griquas they were not to be taken lightly.
In their first round encounter the Pumas received a 80-16 pounding to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
The Pumas, however, recorded two wins against the Leopards and Griquas since then and have threatened to upset the bigger teams throughout the season.
"They are a difficult team which play with a lot of intensity and are always looking at a win over the big teams," said Drotské.
Drotske's side has been growing in stature since their 22-22 draw against the Blue Bulls three weeks ago.
After two consecutive wins over the Sharks at home and Western Province in Cape Town they drew their last match 25-25 against the Lions.
The coach said they put behind them the disappointment of relinquishing a 14 point lead in the dying moments of the match to share the spoils.
"We weren't happy with that but we've moved on. It just shows you that if you receive a yellow card, 14 points mean nothing," said Drotské.
Drotské said he was not happy with his side's tactical kicking against the Lions, which they addressed in the build-up to Friday's match.
The Pumas, on the other hand, will be looking at finishing their last two matches of the Currie Cup on a high.
They were convincingly beaten 47-12 by the Blue Bulls last weekend where some bad discipline ultimately let them down when they briefly had to play with 13 players.
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse has on many occasions bemoaned the SA Rugby Union's decision to reduce the Currie Cup format from eight teams to six. He will undoubtedly use the last two matches to prove a point.
Teams:
Pumas:
15 MJ Mentz, 14 Wilhelm Loock, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Christo le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Eduan Van Der Walt, 4 JP Mostert, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Brett Nel, 18 Nicol Mostert, 19 RW Kember, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Coenie van Wyk, 22 Siviwe Magaba
Free State Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Lappies Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Andries Strauss