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Bloemfontein - The scenario facing the Cheetahs and Stormers in the build-up to their Super Rugby derby at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon is probably one that neither side is very proud of.
As it stands, these two teams occupy the bottom two places on the log – after both have featured in the playoffs during the last couple of seasons.
On the one side, the Cheetahs’ defence has let them down more often than not, especially late in matches, although they defended very well last weekend against the Cell C Sharks.
The side from Central South Africa have conceded at least five more tries (14) than any other side in the last 20 minutes of games this year.
And on the other hand, the Capetonians have struggled to score tries – only the Lions’ 11 is lower than the Stormers’ 12, while the Cheetahs’ 22 five-pointers is the most of all South African sides.
"It’s really important to go back to our basics and focus on our set piece.
"I thought that our defence in the last game was a step in the right direction," Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said.
"You need to go back to basics and take it step by step. We know that if we play well in Bloemfontein, we can beat any team.
"We need to get rid of those soft moments were we do funny things and let teams back into the game to beat us.
"We need to play for 80 minutes.”
Looking ahead to the match in Bloemfontein, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said they are expecting a physical battle.
"It’s always tough to play against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
"They are just behind us on the log, with one win and a draw, so both teams will be desperate to come away with a victory in our second all-South African derby in the space of just a week," said Coetzee.
Saturday's game at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 17:05.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Boom Prinsloo, 7 Jean Cook, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Caylib Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Waltie Vermeulen, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Riaan Smith, 23 Cornal Hendricks
Stormers:
15. Jaco Taute, 14. Damian de Allende, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Devon Williams, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Nizaam Carr, 5. Michael Rhodes, 4. Ruan Botha, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Oliver Kebble, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Schalk Burger, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Kurt Coleman, 23. Kobus van Wyk
As it stands, these two teams occupy the bottom two places on the log – after both have featured in the playoffs during the last couple of seasons.
On the one side, the Cheetahs’ defence has let them down more often than not, especially late in matches, although they defended very well last weekend against the Cell C Sharks.
The side from Central South Africa have conceded at least five more tries (14) than any other side in the last 20 minutes of games this year.
And on the other hand, the Capetonians have struggled to score tries – only the Lions’ 11 is lower than the Stormers’ 12, while the Cheetahs’ 22 five-pointers is the most of all South African sides.
"It’s really important to go back to our basics and focus on our set piece.
"I thought that our defence in the last game was a step in the right direction," Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said.
"You need to go back to basics and take it step by step. We know that if we play well in Bloemfontein, we can beat any team.
"We need to get rid of those soft moments were we do funny things and let teams back into the game to beat us.
"We need to play for 80 minutes.”
Looking ahead to the match in Bloemfontein, Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said they are expecting a physical battle.
"It’s always tough to play against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
"They are just behind us on the log, with one win and a draw, so both teams will be desperate to come away with a victory in our second all-South African derby in the space of just a week," said Coetzee.
Saturday's game at the Free State Stadium kicks off at 17:05.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Boom Prinsloo, 7 Jean Cook, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Caylib Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Waltie Vermeulen, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Riaan Smith, 23 Cornal Hendricks
Stormers:
15. Jaco Taute, 14. Damian de Allende, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain), 11. Devon Williams, 10. Peter Grant, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Duane Vermeulen, 7. Siya Kolisi, 6. Nizaam Carr, 5. Michael Rhodes, 4. Ruan Botha, 3. Frans Malherbe, 2. Deon Fourie, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Stephan Coetzee, 17. Oliver Kebble, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Schalk Burger, 21. Louis Schreuder, 22. Kurt Coleman, 23. Kobus van Wyk
