This is the first of a series of articles on the SA Franchises that I am going to place in preparation for the 2010 Super 14 competition, being the last of its kind before the evil conference system takes over in 2011.

Obviously everyone posting here is an expert. Whether that expertise lies in rugby we will find out during the course of the season, so I have taken it upon myself to give everyone a breakdown of the contenders, unbiased of course, a reminder of who’s who in the showpiece of Southern Hemisphere rugby, especially for my esteemed light-blue colleagues in the Pretoria-Clan, yes boys, there are other teams competing in the Super 14 as well.

WARNING: The following article might lead to excessive bantering, differences of opinion and hopefully, legitimate arguments. If there is a problem with this, please do not read any further.

The Saint’s Super Showdown
The Cheetahs

Yes, they exist, seriously, I am not joking, I have seen them myself. If you haven’t, check out the bottom of the Super 14 log, they like hanging around there as it puts them in a category of their own, they simply refuse to be average…, or successful for that matter. Or at least, that is what I have been led to believe, because I can’t see any other reason why they are where they are.

The Cheetahs are especially known for their hard-scrumming packs, their hard-running backs, and the wide open Freestate plains…wait, did I say plains? I meant gaps… in their defence. Because everyone is so busy attacking, counter-attacking, and waving to their girlfriends “Look I am on teeeveee!” that they forget that the game has two pillars – Offence & DEFENCE!

After every miserable super campaign, they pretend amongst one-another that winning the Currie Cup is better that winning the Super 14, but seeing as they have won neither, this really puts them in a bind. They now have nothing to talk about, so they all just sit at home, sipping a beer or six while sulking about the bigger unions stealing all of their best players…boo hoo.

This is the same sob-story we hear every year, and the fact of the matter is, in the modern-day game, it’s no longer an excuse. Surely there must be some way of getting corporate Bloemfontein involved much the same way that Giteau was persuaded to stay with the hapless Force for as long as he did, individual player sponsorships, name rights, after rugby contingency plans etcetera, if the Cheetahs are serious enough about keeping a player, I am sure that there will be a way. One must ask why players like Juan Smith and Andre Venter always stuck by the Cheetahs, and why Heinrich Brussow remained in the FS Capital, loyalty is one answer, but loyalty doesn’t put food on the table, and neither does a losing team, clearly the Cheetahs have something on the table for those players, now they only need to apply it to more of their other upcoming stars. (Read WP Nel – all provinces have a shortage of quality props)

As a matter of personal opinion, I believe that the Cheetahs are much too satisfied with being crap, or maybe they like the feeling of being wiped…off the field that is. Their biggest problem is their absolute belief that running rugby can solve anything, they forget that a team needs to earn the right to score a try, one has to put in the work, play to the corners, put the ball through the phases, then send it out wide to score, total rugby isn’t a dream anymore, it’s a game that wins trophies, which is why the cheetahs have none.

The Team

In the Currie Cup it was quite evident that little is the matter with the orange boys come scrum-time, even though they somehow lost the plot when the ball had to be thrown in at line-outs, rising stars like WP Nel, Coenie Oosthuizen, Frans Viljoen and Ashley Johnson combined well with guys that can already be called seasoned veterans such as Wian du Preez, Nico Breedt, Hendro Scholtz, Adriaan Strauss, Kabamba Floors and David de Villiers. Add to the mix some up and coming Griqua muscle and superstars Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow and there is plenty to be optimistic about, IF they can keep it together on the away leg of the competition.

It is from No. 9 though, that the problem starts, in Sarel Pretorius and Tewis de Bruyn they have two more than competent scrum-halves, both unfortunately are known for losing their cool, and in the Super 14, you simply cannot allow that to happen. At centre they seem to have adequate cover in the form of Meyer Bosman, Corne Uys, Robert Ebersohn, Barry Geel and JW Jonker, while on the wing, Danwell Demas, Jongi Nokwe have been around the block while Lionel Mapoe and Bjorn Basson are stars in the making. At fullback Riaan Viljoen is an exciting prospect to beef up the sturdy (but oh so boring) Hennie Daniller, so they should be settled in that regard.

Louis Strydom, Naas Olivier and in a lesser sense Meyer Bosman are the cheetah cover at flyhalve, and with the exception of Bosman, both of the other flyhalves have had their shares of absolute shockers, Olivier performed admirably for the Griquas in the 2009 Currie Cup, but only when the field was dry and in Kimberley, while Strydom, well, enough said about Strydom.

The Cheetahs lost more than originally thought when Lionel Cronje sought greener pastures with Rassie Erasmus. I do not know if, at the time, they thought Jacques Louis Potgieter was going to change his mind about returning to Pretoria, but that certainly did not happen. Now it leaves them with a flyhalve that is notoriously unable to perform at sea-level (where 75% of the Super 14 is played), another who is notoriously unable to perform…period, and Meyer Bosman who is more of a centre than anything else. Where is Sias Ebersohn? Wasn’t he touted as the next great thing? I think it is time to blood him in the Currie Cup at least, he could be worth his weight in (green and) gold, and the cheetahs desperately need him.

Which leads me to conclude that, other than flyhalve and potentially lock, the cheetahs have a solid foundation from which they can build to at least mid-table, as well as causing a few shocks along the way.

2010 might just be the year that the FS Boys finally get out from under their mommy’s aprons, and actually win an overseas game. They needn’t win the Super 14, they just need to prove that they belong in the competition, because if everyone is so satisfied with losing, and certain politicians get their way, what argument can there be against replacing them with the Southern Kings. Wooden spoon is wooden spoon!

Clashes to watch
12 February 2010 – Cheetahs vs Bulls (Bloemfontein) – Always brutal
17 April 2010 – Crusaders vs Cheetahs (Christchurch) – Cheetahs brought them down in Bloem, now it’s payback!

Cheetahs Training Squad

Backs: Hennie Daniller, Riaan Viljoen, Danwel Demas, Bjorn Basson, JW Jonker, Robert Ebersohn, Philip Snyman, Wilmaure Louw, Meyer Bosman, Corné Uys, Barry Geel, Naas Olivier, Louis Strydom, Jongi Nokwe, Lionel Mapoe, Rocco Jansen, Tewis de Bruyn, Sarel Pretorius.

Forwards: Kabamba Floors, Frans Viljoen, Ashley Johnson, Francois Uys, Davon Raubenheimer, Juan Smith, Heinrich Brüssow, Hendro Scholtz, Wesley Wilkens, David de Villiers, Jacques Lombard, Izak van der Westhuizen, Nico Breedt, Rudi Mathee, Kobus Calldo, WP Nel, Hans Grobler, Rayno Barnes, Adriaan Strauss, Albertus Buckle, Coenie Oosthuizen, Wian du Preez, Skipper Badenhorst.
Next up…The Lions