‘We took Clermont to a dark place’ – Cheetahs coach after crashing out of Cup

Cheetahs coach Izak van der Westhuizen says his charges took Clermont to a dark place when they almost pulled off a fantastic comeback win but ultimately fell to a 27-22 defeat in their Challenge Cup last 16 clash at the Stade Marcel Michelin on Saturday.

The Cheetahs struggled initially, trailing 22-3 at halftime and then 27-3 early in the second half, before staging a brilliant fightback with three unanswered tries, but they ended up just short of what would have been a famous win.

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It ended their participation in the Challenge Cup in the first knockout round for the second straight season, but Van Der Westhuizen was still proud of the effort of his charges.

Played for each other

“You can see they played for each other and they fought for each other. So I want to commend the players for that and I want to applaud them for their effort,” said Van Der Westhuizen.

“Technically we weren’t quite there. I think we made a few technical errors, but those are things we can figure out and work on in the future.

“But I think overall we took Clermont close to a dark place there at the end. I just would have loved it if we could have pulled off the win.”

The Cheetahs have done extremely well to progress from the competitions pool stage in two consecutive seasons, despite the odds being firmly stacked against them.

The local Currie Cup is the Cheetahs next biggest competition that they are involved in, but the step up from that to the Challenge Cup is vast.

Slight momentum

The Cheetahs were able to build a slight bit of momentum thanks to the introduction of the SA Cup, which allowed them to play competitively before the last 16.

But with injuries disrupting them heading into the game and the massive difference in standard of opposition, it meant they were always playing behind the eight ball.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks trying to get a settled squad. As soon as you bank on one (player) you get a niggle or an injury. We had to make a late change in the props in the week and just before the game Reinhardt (Fortuin) picked up an injury,” explained Van Der Westhuizen.

“I thought the guys who slotted in did a very good job, which shows how adaptable they are and it also shows that we have created a bit of depth in regards to guys coming off the bench and being able to play.

“I think the biggest difference is playing in the SA Cup and EPCR are completely different levels. Making that step up takes a little bit of time to get used to and I think that will always be the challenge for us.

“We have to try and train in a way that simulates that which is very difficult. But we have quality players and you can see there was a lot of fight and effort from the guys which is all you can ask for as a coach.”