Belief brought victories to Cheetahs By Jacques Van Der Westhuyzen Johannesburg – If the Bulls go on to win the Super Rugby title they will rightly be called South Africa’s best provincial outfit – again. But the team that’s won the hearts of South Africans in 2013 are the Cheetahs – and rightly so, too. No one gave the small budget team a chance of doing anything in Super Rugby this season. They were rocked by the news early on in the year that veteran flank Juan Smith was to hang up his boots and they lost the man their whole game was planned around – flyhalf Johan Goosen. But after weeks and weeks of action the Cheetahs have qualified for the play-offs, for the first time in their history, so well done to them for achieving what many thought was impossible. How did they do it? Firstly, they believed in themselves; that they were good enough to beat anyone in the competition and we all know how far confidence in one’s own ability can take you. It is the backbone of success, but they had more in their arsenal than just that. One of the major differences this season was that the Cheetahs were able to win the close games, something they failed to do in previous seasons. In 2011 and 2012 they lost several games by less than seven points, earning valuable losing bonus points, but when those defeats are turned into wins, one point all of a sudden becomes four. And then there was their defence. We’ve always known the Cheetahs to be an attack-minded side, but with Michael Horak – the former England international – roped in to help in the defensive area they were able to reduce the number of tries they conceded which helped in turning the tight affairs in their favour. In 2011 the Cheetahs let in 49 tries from 16 games, while in 2012 they conceded 47. This year they’ve let in 32. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t still looked to score tries; they crossed the whitewash on 38 occasions this year, pretty much the same as in 2012, when they scored 35. In the days of the Super 14, which they played in on five occasions between 2006 and 2010, their best finish was 10th in 2006 and the most wins they achieved was five, also in 2006, as well as in 2010. They doubled those number of wins this year (10) and you can argue it’s been tougher than before, considering the double round of derby matches that take place in the new-format Super Rugby. The Cheetahs’ rise to knock-out round material has been nothing short of brilliant. They’re going to be up against it in the play-offs, especially if they travel abroad, but having picked up three wins overseas already this year, they’ll believe anything is possible. And why not? – The Star
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:12:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015