Franco Smith

The Toyota Cheetahs know they have an uphill battle in this year’s Vodacom Super Rucompetition, but they have approached their mammoth task with a renewed amount of energy and are hoping they will reap the rewards for their efforts.

Since Franco Smith took over the team in the last 2 games of last season the side has shown some exceptional touches on attack, but their defence at times and their set piece play has often let them down, ensuring that a lot of the good work they do on the field is reduced because of poor defence.

Smith has worked hard on this with the team through the off-season and believes it is one of the biggest priorities for the team to address before the season gets under way.

While he admits the team is still a work-in-progress, the former Springbok playmaker is hopeful that strides made in physical conditioning and the work the management have put in with the side in the off-season will begin to bear fruit when the serious games begin next month.

That all starts with doing the basics right, like ensuring a clean, fast amount of ball for the backs and some strong scrummaging that the Cheetahs have become known for in the recent past. Smith has also changed the way the team scrums this year, hoping this will make a difference as well.

“It was impossible to fix all of that before last year’s Currie Cup season, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t identify it. We did a review process after last year’s Currie Cup and those things that stood out like a sore finger, we addressed first,” Smith explained.

“We’ve been scrumming now from day 1 and worked hard on it. Physical conditioning will make a big difference with regards to this, and it is something we have worked extremely hard on. We have changed the way we scrum in the sense that the power will come from the back of the scrum and not just being reliant on the front 3.

We have put a lot of time and effort into the scrum, especially to get rid of some bad habits.

“On defence, it was a lot better in the Currie Cup. If we look back – and people may not realise it – but those 12 or 13 tries we conceded against the Lions was with our 2nd team and it made us look bad. It hurt us in terms of confidence but I knew it was a growing pain and it would be that way. Defence is just as much a priority as any other part of the game, and we try and be a complete team.”

According to Smith the team know their ball retention needs to be better if they want to compete with the big teams in the competition.

“We try to get rid of every bad habit we have. The biggest difference I believe is that in the past the Cheetahs made a lot of tackles in their own half, they found themselves under a lot of pressure in their own half. They made 200 tackles of which 150 were in their own half – and if you make 1 mistake then it is a try. Other teams also make 200 tackles, but a lot of them are in the opposition half and if there is a mistake it is not necessarily a try,” he added.

“So to play in the right areas of the field will be just as important. Along with that, if we keep the ball better then we will tackle less. I always say to the guys – 100% of teams without the ball never score a try. If you keep the ball more, then you will defend less and then the quality of defending will go up.

“We have worked on it and there is a plan around it.”

The Cheetahs will leave for Zimbabwe this weekend for their pre-season game against the Vodacom Bulls in Harare.

Their 1st game is against the new entrants, the Jaguares from Argentina, in Bloemfontein on 26 February.

SuperSport