Cheetahs side going for jugular, so Stormers call on Super Rugby crew

THE Free State Cheetahs have not lost a Currie Cup game since a semifinal in 2015 and will pose a huge threat for Western Province when the sides meet in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

Free State romped through last year’s Currie Cup‚ winning all 10 matches and started this season’s campaign with an emphatic 47-12 win over the Sharks last week.

Despite their Super Rugby woes [the Cheetahs won only four of 15 matches] at Currie Cup level they are formidable.

That is why WP coach John Dobson will integrate several Stormers players into his squad for the trip to Bloemfontein after New Zealand’s Chiefs eliminated the Super Rugby team at the quarterfinal stage last weekend.

“Maybe in years gone past some guys would feel a bit let down after the anticlimax or the hype of Super Rugby‚ but they are all very keen‚” Dobson said about the Stormers players.

“There is a really good culture in the Stormers camp.

“What has been very good this year is how closely aligned the teams are – so the integration [between the teams] is almost seamless, because the systems are the same across the board.

“That’s a credit to Fleckie [Stormers coach Robbie Fleck] and Gert Smal [director of rugby] on how they had shaped it to work.

“It is a bit tough, because at one stage we planned around taking the Provincial Challenge team to Bloem to play the Currie Cup champions.

“So I feel a bit sad we are not going to as the Stormers aren’t in the [Super Rugby] semifinal and you do feel a loyalty to the guys who have put in so much,” Dobson said.

“But the truth is, there are some amazing players in the Stormers team who will be available – and who need some rugby. Every single one who has been mooted as possibly playing on the weekend is as keen as mustard.

“This is definitely a hard game for us. The Stormers were there a few weeks ago‚ it was a pretty tough and that was with all the big-name players in for us.

“I suspect what the Cheetahs are trying to do is get as many Currie points as they can before they go into the Pro12‚ because they had a great Currie Cup success story last year.

“We’re aware they’re probably targeting this game as a definite win. It is essentially their Super Rugby team – we’ll need something special.”