Alehana
Juniors
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Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
The Cheetahs and the Chiefs are among the in-form teams in the competition at the moment, with both sides enjoying reasonably successful campaigns so far this season.
After returning from their most successful ever tour to New Zealand and Australia, the Cheetahs continued their winning ways by beating the struggling Lions 26-5 last weekend.
Coach Naka Drotske deserves plenty of credit for turning his side into a competitive unit. With the Southern Kings set to make their debut in next year's tournament, the threat of relegation at the end of this season's competition is a real possibility for one of the South African franchises.
And after showing signs of improvement last season, the Bloemfontein-based franchise have steadily worked their way up the table.
The Cheetahs will certainly be motivated. In five previous encounters against the Chiefs they have been on the losing side three times and drawn the other two fixtures.
Drotske expects a fast-paced game and wants his team to repeat the performance which helped them claim a 47-38 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington two weeks ago.
"We have to learn from the Hurricanes game," he said.
"You can't play 70% of the rugby and still trial by 11-32 on the score board simply because you gave away the ball three times on your opponents' tryline.
"Our plan is to play low risk rugby, not make 50-50 passes and not to concede possession unnecessarily. The Chiefs, with the backs that they have, will punish you if you turn over possession against them."
After losing their season opener to the Highlanders, the Chiefs have gone on a five-match winning streak and they will be keen to return home unbeaten on their two-match tour of South Africa.
In their most recent match, they grinded out a deserved 20-12 victory over the Western Force in Perth last weekend.
The 2010 runners-up know that beating the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein is no mean feat but they will be fancying their chances, particularly due to the fact that they are yet to lose against their opponents.
The Chiefs' back-line possess some of the most potent attacking weapons in the competition and with players like Aaron Cruden, Sonny Bill Williams, Richard Kahui and Lelia Masaga in their ranks they could score numerous tries if their opponents don't work out a solid defensive plan to stop them.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Johan Goosen, 22 Philip Snyman.
Chiefs: 15 Andrew Horrell, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Alex Bradley, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke (c), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Arizona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 22 Robbie Robinson.
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7669118,00.html
Odds
Cheetahs $2.00
Chiefs $1.75
The Cheetahs and the Chiefs are among the in-form teams in the competition at the moment, with both sides enjoying reasonably successful campaigns so far this season.
After returning from their most successful ever tour to New Zealand and Australia, the Cheetahs continued their winning ways by beating the struggling Lions 26-5 last weekend.
Coach Naka Drotske deserves plenty of credit for turning his side into a competitive unit. With the Southern Kings set to make their debut in next year's tournament, the threat of relegation at the end of this season's competition is a real possibility for one of the South African franchises.
And after showing signs of improvement last season, the Bloemfontein-based franchise have steadily worked their way up the table.
The Cheetahs will certainly be motivated. In five previous encounters against the Chiefs they have been on the losing side three times and drawn the other two fixtures.
Drotske expects a fast-paced game and wants his team to repeat the performance which helped them claim a 47-38 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington two weeks ago.
"We have to learn from the Hurricanes game," he said.
"You can't play 70% of the rugby and still trial by 11-32 on the score board simply because you gave away the ball three times on your opponents' tryline.
"Our plan is to play low risk rugby, not make 50-50 passes and not to concede possession unnecessarily. The Chiefs, with the backs that they have, will punish you if you turn over possession against them."
After losing their season opener to the Highlanders, the Chiefs have gone on a five-match winning streak and they will be keen to return home unbeaten on their two-match tour of South Africa.
In their most recent match, they grinded out a deserved 20-12 victory over the Western Force in Perth last weekend.
The 2010 runners-up know that beating the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein is no mean feat but they will be fancying their chances, particularly due to the fact that they are yet to lose against their opponents.
The Chiefs' back-line possess some of the most potent attacking weapons in the competition and with players like Aaron Cruden, Sonny Bill Williams, Richard Kahui and Lelia Masaga in their ranks they could score numerous tries if their opponents don't work out a solid defensive plan to stop them.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Johan Goosen, 22 Philip Snyman.
Chiefs: 15 Andrew Horrell, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Alex Bradley, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke (c), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Arizona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 22 Robbie Robinson.
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7669118,00.html
Odds
Cheetahs $2.00
Chiefs $1.75