Connacht confident of taming rampant Cheetahs
THE whole of the PRO14 will have their eyes turned towards the Sportsground this evening when Connacht face a Cheetahs side that have been hugely impressive in their opening games with three bonus point wins recorded in Bloemfontein.
It is one thing toying with Glasgow, Munster and Ulster to average out at just over 50 points-per-game in Bloemfontein.
It is quite another to come to a place where the term ‘climate change’ could have been invented for your average day in Galway.
If the Cheetahs can get into their groove quickly they could show everyone how they are ready to shake up the league.
“It’s a tough place to go to, weather-wise,” said their captain Ruan Pienaar, the former South Africa and Ulster star. “We believe we can back our skill-set in the conditions and still play the game we want to play to put teams under pressure.”
However, the Westerners have been forewarned by what has happened to two of their fellow provinces.
Stephen Fitzgerald will join his brother Conor in the Connacht back division amid speculation around Saracens interest in Kieran Marmion.
Cheetahs’ impressive form is something that Connacht head coach Andy Friend says his side will be well prepared for.
“The Cheetahs have been impressive in their opening three games and have three bonus points on the board so we will have to be at our best against them,” he said.
“But we have had a really good start to the season as well, with two wins from our opening three games, so fans can expect an exciting game.
“Unfortunately we have to plan without Tiernan O’Halloran and Paddy McAllister until December but I have always said that this block of 13 games in a row was going to require real depth in our squad.
“We have picked a match day 23 targeting a home win,” he added.
Wasn’t as prominent as would have hoped. Had one nice carry in the build-up to the second score but was in and out of the game.
Another strong performance for the openside flanker, who set up the opening score and had some excellent carries in another busy display
Continues to underline his importance to the team with another all-guns-blazing performance. By far the most important ball carrier.
REPLACEMENTS: M Faddes (for Hume, 3 mins) Performed well E O’Sullivan (for McGrath, 50 mins) Busy in loose S Carter (for O’Connor, 50 mins) Difficult display A McBurney (for Andrew, 59 mins) Scrum didn’t improve N Timoney (for Reidy, 59 mins) Some energy R Kane (for O’Toole, 66 mins) Did well