Super 14 2009- Cheetahs

[James]

Sorry about the delay folks. I've been lazy. Ok here comes Cheetahs Mark II (I accidentally lost the first one).

The Cheetahs are in an unfortunate position in South African rugby. They've produced some fantastic players over the years notably in the forward pack yet none of these players seem to want to stay with the Bloemfontein franchise. While the Lions suffer the same fate, Johannesburg is much bigger than Bloemfontein and probably has a lot more power to throw around. 6 franchises for SA is a pipe dream- they barely have the talent for 5. So if they want to expand into the Eastern Cape the Cheetahs are the ones likely to suffer from it.

Form from 2008
You can't not pity the Cheetahs. They topped the bonus points chart with 9 and yet were at second bottom of the pile when it came to overall points. In seven games the Cheetahs picked up bonus points for losing by 7 or less and who could forget that monumental cock up where they missed a penalty after the siren to hand the Force an overtime victory. All in all a disappointing season for the Cheetahs. The big question you have to ask from this is: Where they unlucky not to get the wins or were the lucky just to get that far? Its hard to know.

In the Currie Cup the Cheetahs didn't perform as well as they have in the past few years and were knocked out in the semi-finals. The player drain from the Free State seems to be starting to take its toll.

Comings and Goings
Coach Nada Drotske should count himself lucky that the majority of his squad is still with him from 2008. One area where the Cheetahs have been hit hard has been the front row. With props like Ollie le Roux, Jannie du Plessis, Os du Rant leaving in last few years a squad is going to be stretched but add to that CJ van der Linde who has moved to Ireland and Sarel Louw who is out with a broken ankle and you've been stripped bare. The Cheetahs won't be able to rely on this traditional strength so much in 2009. Add to these losses the departure of one of the Cheetahs most reliable players in lock Rory Duncan and the line-out looks a bit shaky too. Thankfully Barend Pieterse has decided not to retire after all and the Cheetahs won't lose both their first choice locks.

From the backs the unorthodox yet seemingly effective Falie Oelschig has moved on to Europe and will be sorely missed. Oelschig had a style that seemed well suited to the Cheetahs and he will be hard to replace.

Keep and Eye out for
With 7 tries for a team that came second last you can't doubt the skills of flying winger Jongi Nokwe. He really is the only class back in the Cheetahs line up and the team will need him fit and healthy and scoring if they want to make any ground on last year. If the Cheetahs actually win some games don't be surprised if its down to Nokwe.

After a long history of producing monster front rowers the Cheetahs are starting to churn out some pretty incredibly back rowers to. One player pushing for Springboks honours in 2009 will be Heinrich Brussow. The powerful loose forward impressed in 2008 and formed an excellent partnership with Springbok and captain Juan Smith. Smith's form dipped a bit in 2008's test matches but if he comes back in good form he will make a menacing pair with Brussow and may well beat a few opponents into submission. Watch out for some strong bollocking runs off the back of a formidable scrum.

Prediction for 2009
I don't expect the Cheetahs to be as good in 2009 as they were in 2008. They've lost a couple of key players in a team where key players are few and far between. Their scrum will be weaker and so will their line-out. While still being very competant their set-piece will not be the 'go to' it has been in the past. Too little money and too little playing appeal (in both location and coaching) will see some lean years for the Cheetahs and in my opinion the reformation of the Cats to make way for a team elsewhere. It is a sad fate for a proud rugby province but one that will be almost impossible to stop. They might get a win or two but can't expect much more. The Cheetahs take out 13th place. Same as last year.

[beige]

Too little money and too little playing appeal (in both location and coaching) will see some lean years for the Cheetahs and in my opinion the reformation of the Cats to make way for a team elsewhere.

Big call!

[James]

Big call!

Yeah I know it is. But I can't be the only one to think that with 5 teams the SAFFAs only usually have two successful ones so with 6 the talent will be spread even thinner. The most logical step to cater for the political needs of more black players is to build a new province in the Eastern Cape were the Spears were and remerge the Lions and Cheetahs. They always come last anyway.

That of course is the sensible solution and so you can be 100% guaranteed that the SARU will NOT be doing it.

[mudskipper]

Yeah I know it is. But I can't be the only one to think that with 5 teams the SAFFAs only usually have two successful ones so with 6 the talent will be spread even thinner. The most logical step to cater for the political needs of more black players is to build a new province in the Eastern Cape were the Spears were and remerge the Lions and Cheetahs. They always come last anyway.

That of course is the sensible solution and so you can be 100% guaranteed that the SARU will NOT be doing it.

I agree i think its a possible reshuffle of SA teams to get 5... thanks for your review. Cheetahs in for a tough season...best thing out of the cheetahs was Rassie...