Cheetahs one win from a play-off
● When it was announced that Rory Duncan was moving to the Worcester Warriors on February 8, he had no idea how his farewell would shape up.
The Cheetahs, who were hammered by Irish powerhouses Ulster (42-19) and Munster (51-18) in their opening two matches of European rugby’s Pro 14, have rebounded in the best possible way.
Using a solid home platform, they churned out the wins, but two days after Duncan’s departure was publicised, they lost 25-20 to the Cardiff Blues at Arms Park.
Three months later the Cheetahs (58) sit pretty at third in Conference A, five points ahead of the Blues.
Only a cataclysmic collapse can prevent the Cheetahs from getting into the play-offs, but that’s the least of Duncan’s concerns.
“Well, I wouldn’t like for things to end at the quarterfinal stage and we want to prep towards winning the play-off game. That’s the mindset but it’s nice to be in a position where, yes, I’m leaving at the end of the season but as a full collective, we’ve put in an outstanding amount of work,” Duncan said.
“It also needs to be remembered that it’s a group of players who decided to make a difference and to get the outcome that they have. The guys have worked very hard to get to where they are now and it’s been a good learning experience. There’s so much we learnt after the first two games.”
The Cheetahs and Southern Kings had a bye this weekend but meet in Port Elizabeth on Saturday while the Blues face the Ospreys in Cardiff.
With the Cheetahs having the earlier kick-off, they could shut out the Blues and render the “Judgment Day” derby redundant.
The Cheetahs, though, will have to travel to either Edinburgh or Llanelli to face Edinburgh or the Scarlets in the quarterfinals on the weekend of May 4-6.
The winner of that game will face the Glasgow Warriors in the semifinals on the weekend of May 18-20 with the final taking place at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on May 26.
“We’re very happy to be in the position that we’re in. We didn’t say we want to reach the quarterfinals, we just wanted to take one week at a time. Outside of those first two games, we believe the team came back home and became competitive. Being one point away from a secured play-off is a great position but we have to beat the Kings first.”