Blues will be licking their lips at the sight of the Cheetahs

THE CHEETAHS won’t face the skilful Sonny Bill Williams in their Super Rugby match at Eden Park in Auckland tomorrow, but they will still be up against a Blues team packed with gamebreakers.

Tana Umaga’s men are not quite in the league of the four other New Zealand sides, who score from almost anywhere, but they’re no slouches when it comes to scoring tries. And they’ll be licking their lips at the prospect of coming up against Franco Smith’s men after running in 40 points against the Waratahs last week.

The Blues might have won just five times in 10 outings to be the worst performing Kiwi team in the competition, but they have still managed to score 35 tries, compared to the Cheetahs’ 28.

The Cheetahs team the Blues are up against have little going for them, even if they did play some excellent rugby against the Highlanders last week. No one will forget how they gave that game away by conceding three converted tries in the last four minutes to lose 45-41 – their eighth defeat of the competition – while several players must be wondering where they’re going to play their rugby next year after the team’s likely cut from Super Rugby.

Coach Smith is also currently wearing two hats, as he’ll have at the back of his mind the Springboks’ Test series against France in June when he will take up the role of attack coach for the Boks.

So, after coming unstuck against the Highlanders last weekend, Smith and Co have the Blues to deal with tomorrow before moving onto a match with the Hurricanes in Wellington next week. Life is not being kind to the Cheetahs at the moment.

Then it’s off to Tokyo for a date with the Sunwolves – no easy team to play on home soil.

Smith has made just three changes to the side that lost last Saturday. Props Charles Marais and Ox Nche swap places with the latter moving to the bench, while at openside flank Niell Jordaan replaces the injured Paul Schoeman and on the bench Clinton Swart gets a chance to face New Zealand opposition.

Meanwhile, Umaga hasn’t been able to pick Williams but has recalled fit-again lock Patrick Tuipulotu and several other stars who’ve been on the sidelines recently. Ben Alexander v Johannes Jonker

Wowie… talk about a mismatch! The Brumbies front row powerhouse will earn his 139th Brumbies cap tomorrow; Jonker from the Lions hasn’t even started five games. They will both be relatively fresh for the much-anticipated front-row battle with Alexander coming off a few weeks’ rest and Jonker playing off the bench last week. They’ll both want to put in a solid showing in the scrums as their teams look for dominance so expect a fierce battle between the veteran and the rookie. In open play, the Brumbies man enjoys running with the ball, while Jonker has shown he likes putting in a few tackles. It’s a match-up of heavies to be appreciated.