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Bloemfontein – The Cheetahs know they still have a lot of hard work to do and are not getting carried away by the weekend’s Super 14 victory over the Sharks.
While the 25-20 win at the Absa Stadium was not pretty, it brought the Cheetahs four valuable log points and they struck a psychological blow.
Coach Naka Drotské believes the winning momentum is important in the run-up to the Cheetahs’ next two home games against the Highlanders and Hurricanes. But he believes they still have a lot of improving to do.
“We still have a lot to work on. Our discipline, especially on attack, was not good. We conceded penalties at the scrums and lineouts, which kept the Sharks in the picture,” he said.
However, the Cheetahs’ defence was a lot better than against the Bulls. Drotské believes his team’s tactical kicking was poor and that the players did not attack with the same intensity as against the Bulls.
“Some of our kicks went directly into touch and that was unnecessary. We also gave the Sharks the opportunity to kick up-and-unders back at us and to place us under pressure. That was not part of our game plan,” said Drotské.
While there was an improvement from the game against the Bulls, the coach was also not happy with his team’s scrumming performance.
“I was not satisfied with the discipline in the scrums, especially in the first half. Jonathan Kaplan (referee) told us that he had been instructed to allow more time before the engagement. We did not react well to that. We were in attacking positions for all three the first scrums and then the Sharks were awarded penalties,” he said.
Meanwhile, centre Robert Ebersohn played about 20 minutes for Free State in a Vodacom Cup match against a Sharks XV in Durban on Friday. And as such, he is expected to be on the Cheetahs’ substitutes bench against the Highlanders.
Bloemfontein – The Cheetahs know they still have a lot of hard work to do and are not getting carried away by the weekend’s Super 14 victory over the Sharks.
While the 25-20 win at the Absa Stadium was not pretty, it brought the Cheetahs four valuable log points and they struck a psychological blow.
Coach Naka Drotské believes the winning momentum is important in the run-up to the Cheetahs’ next two home games against the Highlanders and Hurricanes. But he believes they still have a lot of improving to do.
“We still have a lot to work on. Our discipline, especially on attack, was not good. We conceded penalties at the scrums and lineouts, which kept the Sharks in the picture,” he said.
However, the Cheetahs’ defence was a lot better than against the Bulls. Drotské believes his team’s tactical kicking was poor and that the players did not attack with the same intensity as against the Bulls.
“Some of our kicks went directly into touch and that was unnecessary. We also gave the Sharks the opportunity to kick up-and-unders back at us and to place us under pressure. That was not part of our game plan,” said Drotské.
While there was an improvement from the game against the Bulls, the coach was also not happy with his team’s scrumming performance.
“I was not satisfied with the discipline in the scrums, especially in the first half. Jonathan Kaplan (referee) told us that he had been instructed to allow more time before the engagement. We did not react well to that. We were in attacking positions for all three the first scrums and then the Sharks were awarded penalties,” he said.
Meanwhile, centre Robert Ebersohn played about 20 minutes for Free State in a Vodacom Cup match against a Sharks XV in Durban on Friday. And as such, he is expected to be on the Cheetahs’ substitutes bench against the Highlanders.
