Cheetahs target fast start against Bulls in Currie Cup semi

The Cheetahs will be targeting a fast start to the match when they host the Bulls in their Currie Cup semi-final at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

Both teams battled it out in the final round of the pool stage at Loftus over the past weekend in a match that swung both ways as the Bulls tore into an early 19-0 lead, before the Cheetahs fought back, aided by a red card to Elrigh Louw, which helped them clinch a 31-27 win.

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Coach Hawies Fourie said that the start of the game would be crucial and that his side had been working hard in the week to make sure they didn’t suffer another slow start.

“It will be very important. The team that dictates the tempo of the game will have the best chance to win it. We can’t afford a slow start again. We have spoken about it and put some things in place to get the mindset ready to fire from the start,” said Fourie.

“If we have a packed Free State Stadium, with the support behind us then there won’t be a slow start. But it depends on us as well. The way we have trained this week we wanted to focus on that, to do things a little bit faster and switch on from the start.”

Soft penalties

The Cheetahs will also have to be mindful of giving away easy penalties, which almost cost them in the dying moments of the game against the Bulls, who worked their way into their 22m before the visitors held on.

“The biggest thing was the amount of penalties that we conceded. We have to be sharp and well-disciplined. We must not concede the soft penalties as I call them,” said Fourie.

“There will always be penalties and there will always be mistakes. But how we react to those will determine the outcome of the game. Last weekend we conceded penalties and had to defend our tryline with our lives and we did it.

“That gave us a lot of confidence. But I am pretty sure the Bulls will come up with some plans to try and break our defence down. So it will be a tough game and new game and we will have to start from scratch.”

In the end it should be a thrilling semi-final match up with both teams capable of picking up a win and moving on to the final.