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Bloemfontein - If the Cheetahs fulfill the wish list of captain Adriaan Strauss on Saturday, the teams supporters could brace themselves for a try-fest.
The reason: the exciting Cheetahs will be up against Super Rugby's worst defenders in the Free State Stadium.
Strauss and the coaching team warned after the team's brilliant 33-20 win over the Crusaders that the Cheetahs should keep their feet on the ground and just focus on their strengths.
While the home team's tackling played a major part in the win over the Crusaders, it's the Cheetahs' good attacking play that started giving them momentum a few weeks ago.
The Cheetahs have scored 180 points in their last four games at an average of 45 per game - 33 against the Crusaders, 53 against the Lions, 47 against the Brumbies and 47 against the Hurricanes.
They also scored 17 tries at an average of four per game in that period.
Furthermore, the Cheetahs' 321 points in 2011 are the most by a South African team in the competition and only the Crusaders (336) and Reds (355) have managed to score more.
The Cheetahs and Sharks' 30 tries are the most by South African teams in the tournament, with only the Crusaders (40), Reds (38) and Blues (35) able to score more.
By contrast, the Rebels' statistics do not look flattering.
The Australian visitors have scored the least points (216) of any team in the tournament and are third-from-bottom in the try-scoring stakes on 23.
But what is of significant interest to the Cheetahs is that the Rebels have conceded by far the most points (430) and tries (57). It's an average of 36 points and five tries per game.
That is why Cheetah supporters will be hoping that scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and flyhalf Sias Ebersohn will expose their opponents' defence again - as they did against other teams in recent weeks.
However, the Rebels have given a number of teams a big fright and the Cheetahs will probably be up against a tougher 22-man squad than the one that went down 10-47 to the Bulls.
Wallaby Mark Gerrard is back from a calf injury and will man the midfield with the experienced Stirling Mortlock.
Cooper Vuna has been picked in place of Lachlan Mitchell on the wing, while flank Luke Jones and No 8 Jarrod Saffy are also new faces in the starting line-up. J
ones makes his starting debut.
Prop Rodney Blake and backline player James Hilgendorf have recovered from injury and are on the substitutes bench.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Riaan Smit, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Corne Uys, 11 Ryno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Kabamba Floors, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Johan Wessels, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 Hennie Daniller
Rebels:
15 Richard Kingi, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Mark Gerrard, 12 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 11 Luke Rooney, 10 Julian Huxley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Tim Davidson, 7 Jarrod Saffy, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Greg Somerville
Substitutes: 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Kevin O’Neill, 19 Michael Lipman, 20 James Hilgendorf, 21 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22 Peter Betham
Bloemfontein - If the Cheetahs fulfill the wish list of captain Adriaan Strauss on Saturday, the teams supporters could brace themselves for a try-fest.
The reason: the exciting Cheetahs will be up against Super Rugby's worst defenders in the Free State Stadium.
Strauss and the coaching team warned after the team's brilliant 33-20 win over the Crusaders that the Cheetahs should keep their feet on the ground and just focus on their strengths.
While the home team's tackling played a major part in the win over the Crusaders, it's the Cheetahs' good attacking play that started giving them momentum a few weeks ago.
The Cheetahs have scored 180 points in their last four games at an average of 45 per game - 33 against the Crusaders, 53 against the Lions, 47 against the Brumbies and 47 against the Hurricanes.
They also scored 17 tries at an average of four per game in that period.
Furthermore, the Cheetahs' 321 points in 2011 are the most by a South African team in the competition and only the Crusaders (336) and Reds (355) have managed to score more.
The Cheetahs and Sharks' 30 tries are the most by South African teams in the tournament, with only the Crusaders (40), Reds (38) and Blues (35) able to score more.
By contrast, the Rebels' statistics do not look flattering.
The Australian visitors have scored the least points (216) of any team in the tournament and are third-from-bottom in the try-scoring stakes on 23.
But what is of significant interest to the Cheetahs is that the Rebels have conceded by far the most points (430) and tries (57). It's an average of 36 points and five tries per game.
That is why Cheetah supporters will be hoping that scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and flyhalf Sias Ebersohn will expose their opponents' defence again - as they did against other teams in recent weeks.
However, the Rebels have given a number of teams a big fright and the Cheetahs will probably be up against a tougher 22-man squad than the one that went down 10-47 to the Bulls.
Wallaby Mark Gerrard is back from a calf injury and will man the midfield with the experienced Stirling Mortlock.
Cooper Vuna has been picked in place of Lachlan Mitchell on the wing, while flank Luke Jones and No 8 Jarrod Saffy are also new faces in the starting line-up. J
ones makes his starting debut.
Prop Rodney Blake and backline player James Hilgendorf have recovered from injury and are on the substitutes bench.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Riaan Smit, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Corne Uys, 11 Ryno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Davon Raubenheimer, 7 Ashley Johnson, 6 Kabamba Floors, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Johan Wessels, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Naas Olivier, 22 Hennie Daniller
Rebels:
15 Richard Kingi, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Mark Gerrard, 12 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 11 Luke Rooney, 10 Julian Huxley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Tim Davidson, 7 Jarrod Saffy, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Alister Campbell, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Greg Somerville
Substitutes: 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Kevin O’Neill, 19 Michael Lipman, 20 James Hilgendorf, 21 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 22 Peter Betham
