Cheetahs on mission to outrun Reds in Brisbane
THE Cheetahs are yet to win in Brisbane, but they are hoping literally to run the Reds off their feet in their Super Rugby clash at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow.
The Reds embarked on three flights to get back to their Brisbane base, and they may not be as sprightly as they were against the Stormers at Newlands last week.
The Cheetahs would have had a far less taxing journey from Melbourne, where they lost to the Rebels last week.
Their tactical naivety cost them there, but they are desperate to adopt the right approach this week.
What is clear from their selections is that they are hoping to foist a game played at a high tempo upon the potentially travel weary hosts. The 13th-placed Cheetahs have scored more tries (32) than nine higher placed teams on the Super Rugby points table. Their defence, however, has been so porous, it gives the Reds an incentive to run back.
The Cheetahs have assembled a starting XV tailored to attack wide, the most significant, perhaps, the introduction of Fred Zeilinga at flyhalf at the expense of the barrel-chested Niel Marais.
In another move that will make the Cheetahs more fleet-footed, lock Francois Uys vacates the starting line-up and is replaced by Carl Wegner.
Lood de Jager takes over the responsibility of calling the line-outs and moves to No 5. He called the shots in that department at the start of the competition, but coach Franco Smith was forced into a rethink after the Stormers, and Eben Etzebeth in particular, made a mockery of the Cheetahs line-out on their last visit to Bloemfontein.
Uys was recalled to shore up that area, but now he needs a bit of a breather. It enables Smith to unleash a younger second row combination that lends increased mobility to the Cheetahs pack.
Paul Schoeman moves from the back to the side of the scrum in place of Hilton Lobberts, whose rumblings last week brought about a shoulder injury. The combative Henco Venter takes over at No 8.
So impressed were the Reds coaching staff with their team’s performance against the Stormers last week that they left their squad unchanged for this weekend.
The Reds were full of enterprise, and their direct running in midfield caused headaches the Cheetahs would have noted in their preparation.
The Reds, perhaps surprisingly, have opted not to introduce Rugby League recruit Caleb Timu. It was, however, felt Timu’s conversion to rugby union is still a work in progress.