Following their disappointing 40-10 defeat to the Suzuki Griquas on Friday, the Cheetahs need to beat the Bulls, and beat them convincingly, to secure a place in the semi-finals. Only a win will do, preferably with a bonus point, and with the Bulls already eliminated, they are likely to field a United Rugby Championship side. 

The Cheetahs’ destiny is still largely in their own hands, though a favour or two along the way wouldn’t hurt. The Cheetahs will certainly hope that the Sharks will be able to claim their third win on the bounce when they face the Pumas in Durban.

Daniel Maartens. Photo: Morgan Piek

What the Griquas did particularly well was put the Cheetahs under pressure from the first kick-off, something the Lions failed to do a week earlier in Bloemfontein.

Coach Frans Steyn told OFM Sport that the most important thing now is how the team gets back on track, stressing that the focus should be on setting the record straight in what promises to be a very tough game.

“We were under pressure from the first kick-off, we need to sort out a few things, and we just had a conversation downstairs,” said Steyn.

“I mean, what we’ve achieved in a short space of time … listen, we lost to Boland in the 87th minute, and we’ve had some good moments in certain games here in Bloemfontein. I think the biggest thing for us is consistency. 

“Look, if you play 100 games, how many will look like tonight? I’ve been part of a couple of those myself when I was still playing, so it’s one of those things.

“The big question is: how are we going to turn it around next week? The backlash from this must be felt next week. People must see it, then all is good. That’s my main focus going into this week.”

Steyn added that the team must learn lessons not only from the Griquas game but from previous outings as well. Their performance let themselves and their supporters down.

“It’s definitely going to be tough, especially as I think they’re going to field the URC team,” Steyn said. “But with the squad we picked tonight, I still feel it’s an awesome team. We have a great squad, and we just need to figure out why we didn’t show up today. They started well, mentally; they were better than us from the outset. 

“That happens in sport, but we need to learn how to manage it. And in the second half, how slow did they make the game? Players were on the ground the whole time, things like that. Why didn’t we do that against the Lions last week? There’s a lot to learn going forward, and we’ll take those lessons. It’s definitely not nice.

Marco de Witt and Cameron Dawson, Photo: Morgan Piek

“There were a lot of people here today, and it feels like we disappointed them. We disappointed ourselves as well. I’m disappointed in myself, too, and you wonder what more you could have done, but that’s sport. Like I said, next week, the backlash is something I want to see.”

Saturday’s crucial, must-win final round clash between the Bulls and Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 19:05.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport mvh