Tall order for Cheetahs in the line-outs

IF CHEETAHS coach Franco Smith was scribbling in his rugby notebook this week, it was probably not the outline of his team’s latest line-out trick he was taking down, but rather how to combat Eben Etzebeth’s powerful line-out presence.

Or it could have been exactly that – another line-out trick to try and keep Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit guessing. Who knows?

One thing that we all do know is that Etzebeth and fellow Bok Du Toit, who will make a welcome return to the Stormers line-up against the Cheetahs today, after being rested against the Sunwolves, have not only menaced the opposition at the set-piece, but they’ve also been two of the hardest working men on the pitch. And they’ve done so consistently.

So I guess it is understandable that out of all the other areas or players Smith could be focused on, the lineouts, and in general the Stormers’ “big pack of forwards” were first to come to mind.

“We have to come back a better team, and hopefully that mindset will help us to win. I think it’s a huge challenge to play against that line-out of theirs and their big pack of forwards – I think it’s going to be important that we do well in that area of play,” Smith said.

“We know there’s a tall task awaiting us with the Stormers having their Springbok locks back, especially with Eben Etzebeth being able to say he’s the best in the country.”

And while Smith, whose team have only won two in five matches, is focused on fighting the Stormers’ lineouts, he also added that they were going to focus on themselves at Newlands. “I think the biggest challenge will be to play at our own standards and not to feel to intimidated by the opposition.

“We’ve been our own worst enemies up until now. All we can do is to put in the hard work that’s needed for us to get to where we want to be.”

But moving away from the forward dominance and the line-out battle – which should be an interesting one to say the least (one just doesn’t know anymore whether it will be a Cheetahs wing or scrumhalf or whoever acting as the jumper), the Stormers and the Cheetahs should dish up a great attacking meal today. Especially the Cheetahs, who have kept their kicking-from-hand to an absolute minimum, with only 15 kicks from hand until now.

Fleck’s team will have Robert du Preez and Jano Vermaak pairing up as the halfbacks – a combination that has done well so far, while SP Marais returns to No 15 with Dillyn Leyds, who had a massive performance against the Sunwolves at fullback, moving to the wing.

Cheslin Kolbe is also back to add to the attacking punch of the Stormers backline, while the Cheetahs welcome back centre and skipper Francois Venter.

Speaking of skippers, Stormers captain Siya Kolisis admitted that his team were a bit too confident going into their 44-31 scare against the Superwolves in Singapore, but he assured fans that they were better prepared for the Cheetahs clash.

“It’s a very tough game, playing the Cheetahs. We’ve got to stay calm no matter the situation. But in Singapore the guys were a bit too calm.”