Cheetahs eye storming finish

Daily Dispatch

@Dispatch_DD A DETERMINED Stormers stand in the way of the Cheetahs and an almost guaranteed playoff place when the sides clash at Newlands this weekend.

Victory would take the Cheetahs to at least 50 points on the standings, and with another certain four points for a last round bye, they would be on 54, which would be enough to bag a place in the top six.

Wing Willie le Roux, fresh from a comfortable and exciting elevation to Test rugby, will be a trumpcard. The confidence he has displayed all season will have risen several notches after excellent outings for the Springboks.

His ability to change the course of a match could be the sole difference between two evenly matched sides.

“Willie is a quality player, and has a variation of attacking skills. But we are still one of the better defensive sides, and we back our defensive systems,” Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said.

“We’ve got to make sure that we don’t watch Willie only, but focus and stay within our systems and don’t do unnecessary things.”

Cheetahs coach Naka

Drotske

has included all his Boks in the 22-man squad. Players such as prop Lourens Adriaanse, flank Lappies Labuschagne and centre Robert Ebersohn were with the Boks but didn’t feature. They will be well rested for the clash.

The Cheetahs have only beaten the Stormers once at Newlands, and that was in 2006. The Stormers have won the last four clashes in Cape Town.

The Sharks could do both the Cheetahs and the Bulls a favour if they can beat the Blues at King’s Park tomorrow.

Off the field the union is in flux with coach John Plumtree having walked away after being told he would be axed when campaign concluded. That leaves assistant coaches Grant Bashford and Hugh Reece-Edwards at the helm for the last three games of the season.

On the up side, the return of centres Butch James and Louis Ludik from long-term injuries as well as flank Willem Alberts is a boost to the team.

The bench is also strengthened with the return of hooker Bismarck du Plessis, flank Jacques Botes and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.