Of f-season toil set up Free Staters ’ sensational start
Drotske s Super Rugby men have gone almost unscathed
O LEVER was pulled, no switch was flicked. But somehow the lights came on “Down Under” for the Cheetahs, who returned this week with three wins from four starts in New Zealand and Australia.
Their affable captain, Adriaan Strauss, insists that their change in fortune has its roots in soil saturated by sweat from their collective brow in the off-season.
“We did things the same on tour,” Strauss said. “The guys were more confident because we put in a lot of hard work in the off-season. We tried to work clever and worked really hard on our defence.
“We knew if everybody played their part we would get the results.”
The signs were there last year when they won two of their Super Rugby matches and narrowly lost the rest — they were pipped by seven points in Christchurch and by just one in Canberra.
And, as coach Naka Drotske has been at pains to stress, the Cheetahs lost seven of their matches by no more than seven points last year.
A 45-3 defeat to the Chiefs was far from the desired start in this year’s tour opener and although they regrouped in their next three matches, their defensive aberrations in Hamilton still meant the Cheetahs conceded 12 tries abroad compared to 11 last year. It does, however, compare favourably with the 26 scored against them in 2010.
“We got help from John McFarland [Springbok defence coach] and Michael Horak also helped a lot,” Strauss said.
“Because we have a young group we have a lot of energy and they take the collision personally,” Strauss said about the spirit in the group (perhaps best embodied by tireless flank Lappies Labuschagne).
“They want to take the bloke back in the tackle. For them it is personal when tries are scored against us. If you ’ re not at your best, teams will
Nhurt you and that’s what the Chiefs did. That was a wake-up call.” Another factor that contributed to their success was familiarity in selection. Unlike the Bulls who have been ravaged by injury, the Cheetahs have gone almost unscathed.
“Continuity in selection always helps,” Strauss concurred.
Their team sheet remained the same in three of their four matches, with the only amendments coming in the last match when Riaan Smit replaced the injured Johan Goosen and Heinrich Brussow came in for Frans Viljoen.
It was the first time the Cheetahs had won three matches abroad — a feat also achieved by the Stormers (three times) and the Bulls and the Sharks (once).
Things can, however, change very quickly in Super Rugby and
‘ Because we have a young group they want to take the bloke back in the tackle ’
resources will more than likely be stretched in the second half of the season. Strauss knows only too well that Super Rugby’s casualty ward is always open for business.
“It is a long season and anything can happen,” he said. “It was terrible to have lost Johan, but ‘ True Blue’ (Riaan Smit) showed that anyone can walk into the team. We ’ re a good group and we have depth. Hopefully we’ll have a good season as far as injuries are concerned.
“The guys are very positive, especially now that we are at home. Three wins on tour always helps with team spirit. We are very excited and it was a confidence booster, especially for the young players in our group. I suppose we have young players every year. At least they now know we can win.”