Cheetahs vs Chiefs

[Alehana]

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

 

[Alehana]

The Chiefs made it six victories from seven in Super Rugby with a five-try performance seeing off the Cheetahs 39-33 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.


Replacement fly-half Johan Goosen salvaged a losing bonus-point for the home side but it was a deserved five points for the in-form Waikato men.

In a sprightly affair, the Chiefs started much the brighter and had a 10-9 lead at half-time thanks to a Lelia Masaga try and Aaron Cruden's boot.

However, the Cheetah then clicked into gear after the break as Ashley Johnson demonstrated his uncanny ability to make an impact. The soon-to-be Wasps flanker swooped on a Tawera Kerr-Barlow pass to intercept before racing half of the field for a try that looked to have turned the game.

But that proved not to be as the Chiefs had tries from Lelia Masaga, Sona Taumololo (2), Sonny Bill Williams and Richard Kahui to their name.

The Cheetahs showed their intent from the start and were up 3-0 thanks to fly-half Sias Ebersohn, who was in for injury struggling number ten Goosen.

Chiefs pivot Cruden replied soon after with his own penalty to level the scores before the visitors found their stride when, on 20 minutes, wing Masaga scored following a sniping run by Andrew Horrell, who started ahead of Robbie Robinson. Cruden slotted for a 10-3 lead.

Ebersohn kicked two more penalties though before the half-time break to make it 9-10.

The Cheetahs started the second 40 well but an error allowed the Chiefs to go down the other end where try-scoring prop machine Taumalolo burst over the whitewash.

Ebersohn kicked his fourth penalty soon after before the emergence of Johnson from the bench saw him make an almost immediate impact, intercepting and racing 50 metres for a key try. Replacement Goosen stepped up to convert. He then added a 56th minute penalty.

But back came the Chiefs via a Cruden penalty and then Taumalolo was over again.

It seemed like the beginning of the end for the Cheetahs as when inside centre Williams showed power to cross for their fourth try, one sensed the writing was on the wall. And so it proved as centre partner Kahui scored their final try on 74 minutes to make it 39-25.

However, Goosen then crossed for a late consolation and despite missing the conversion, he added a last-second penalty to hand his side a losing bonus-point in Bloemfontein.

The scorers:

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Johnson, Goosen
Con: Goosen
Pen: Ebersohn 4, Goosen 3

For Chiefs:
Tries: Masaga, Taumololo 2, SB Williams, Kahui
Con: Cruden 4
Pen: Cruden 2

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 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Rayno Barnes, 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.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Sindile Mayende (South Africa), Stefan Breytenbach (South Africa)
Television match officials: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3824_7672187,00.html