The Peacock Blues have had the upper hand over the Cheetahs in the Diamond City in recent times, with their most recent win being a narrow 31–29 victory this past weekend.

The Cheetahs showed plenty of fight, but were ultimately undone by lapses in concentration. However, with knockout rugby, anything can happen on the day. Van der Westhuizen told OFM Sport that arriving mentally prepared will be key, but it is also important to focus on the job at hand and not what has happened in the past.

Chucky van der Westhuizen. Photo: Morgan Piek

“Yeah, definitely,  it’s never easy in Kimberley. They've managed to beat some big-name teams there before as well, so it’s always a mental battle for us too,” said Van der Westhuizen.

“But we’re focused on our job, and it doesn’t matter whether we’re playing at home or away. We’re working to improve in every aspect each weekend and carry that progress forward so we can be the best possible team we can be.

“So, every game is a mental challenge for us, but I don’t think we dwell too much on the history between Griquas and the Cheetahs.”

The Namibian international added that it will be crucial not to give their opponents even the slightest belief that they can win, something that happened during the recent encounter.

“I think they’re very dangerous, especially with the type of players they’ve got.

“Most of their guys feed off the crowd's energy. Obviously, they’ve got home-ground advantage, and they thrive on that. So yeah, if we can silence the crowd, it’ll definitely work in our favour.”

Saturday’s semi-final at the Suzuki Stadium is set to kick off at 15:00.

Griquas - 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Cebo Dlamini, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids

Replacements - 16 Gustav du Randt, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Athenkosi Khethani, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Tylor Sefoor, 23 Tom Nel

Cheetahs - TBA

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh