Science is the basis for Cheetahs’ Super success
Free State side into top-six playoffs thanks to careful analysis and new conditioning system
WHILE the Stormers and Sharks watch the rest of the Super Rugby tournament from their sofas, the Cheetahs will be breaking new ground as one of the top six teams in the play-offs.
The Cheetahs’ performance this season is the equivalent of Chippa United outperforming Chiefs and Pirates. It shouldn’t happen. But it has, and not by accident.
The Bloemfontein franchise operate on about a R25-million budget annually, while the Sharks and Bulls run at R50-million and the Stormers approximately R40-million.
In theory money means better players, coaches and facilities, but the Cheetahs, instead of being the plucky underdog, have evolved into a hard-edged winning combination.
They will contest their first ever play-off game against either the Brumbies in Canberra, the Crusaders in Christchurch or the Bulls at Loftus (final log positions had not been finalised at the time of going to print).
They’ve made it this far due to two factors — improved defence and very few injuries. The former aspect is down to hard work and consistent selection, but many believe the latter is simply due to good luck.
The fact that flyhalf Johan Goosen (knee ligaments) and lock Francois Uys (broken arm) have been the only two serious injuries, does appear fortuitous. But you make your own luck.
“Last year we started with a new method of conditioning out of necessity,” says fitness coach Neil du Plessis. “We don’t have a deep player pool like the Bulls, Sharks or Stormers so we need to keep our players on the field. We examined what the demands on players’ bodies were in match situation and then focused on conditioning them appropriately through a programme called ‘Sports Science Lab’, developed by a Canadian physiologist based in California.
“We’ve moved away from the bodybuilding-type strength training where you use maximum strength at a slow pace. In rugby everything is
Our new defensive system is based on a high work rate and lots of movement
done explosively whether you’re running, scrumming, hitting a ruck or tackling, so we altered our training. Dead-lifting heavy weights was not helping with explosiveness.
“We’ve decreased hamstring injuries because we’ve spent a lot of time analysing how players run and re-programming them. Most players had been taught to run incorrectly.
“When players start developing in rugby they’re then taught to run in a different way, using leg drives, which is a pulling motion rather than a pushing motion. And that’s where most hamstring injuries occur.
“We started with this programme from scratch midway through last year, so we’re very much in the early stages of redressing our conditioning approach. We’ll see more benefits in the months and seasons ahead and hopefully there’ll continue to be a decrease in avoidable injuries.
“Our conditioning has worked in conjunction with our new defensive system that is based on a high work rate and lots of movement. You could have a good tackler but if he can’t move quickly enough, or physically react in the correct way to make the tackle, then he isn’t effective.”
The Cheetahs had a bye this weekend, giving them an advantage if they have to travel to Australia or New Zealand later today.
“A huge factor in our favour is that we don’t play this weekend, so the players won’t be travelling when they need to be undergoing recovery,” Du Plessis says. “We’re preparing for the longest possible travel, which is to Christchurch to play the Crusaders, and anything closer will be a bonus.”