‘No more excuses’ – Cheetahs coach says his team is getting soft

The Cheetahs need to stop using player departures and a long list of injuries as an excuse for their inept performances in the Currie Cup, coach Hawies Fourie has stressed.

Fourie made six changes to his team for Friday’s clash against the Pumas in Nelspruit, which has become a must-win match for the title holders to stay alive in the competition.

“We focused a lot on our mental state of mind this week,” Fourie said.
Everyone in the squad was back on the same wavelength, Fourie believed, and he wanted them to take responsible for their own performances.

“I feel we use the fact that there are many uncertainties and players going away actually just as excuses and we are getting soft.”

In one of the changes to the Cheetahs team this week, Fourie has moved Frans Steyn to flyhalf.

“Frans is a versatile player and he played a lot of games at 10 in the past, and Tian (Schoeman) is going away after our next game against the Sharks,” he said.

Fourie believed the Pumas would be a
tough nut, especially after their two props Morgan Naude and Ignatius
Prinsloo produced powerful performances against Western Province last week.

“The Pumas are a tough team anywhere,” he said.

“They did well at Newlands against Province and also did well at Loftus against the Bulls when they had many players out with Covid.”

The Pumas have also made significant changes at the back, with the return of right wing Etienne Taljaard which forced them to move Luther Obi to the other wing, while Devon Williams gets another chance at flyhalf in the place of Tiaan Botes.

“They are not a team who only play well in Nelspruit anymore,” Fourie said.

“They are very physical and they have an impressive forward pack.”

Meanwhile, after the Bulls game was called off this week due to Covid, Fourie said it had served as yet another warning to the country’s top players.

“It is something we are wary of all the time,” he said.

“We plan everything during the week that there is as little opportunity as possible for the players to infect one another.

“We are also very hard on the team to ensure they stay away from places like shopping malls and restaurants.”

Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Duncan Saal, Dries Swanepoel, Howard Mnisi, William Small-Smith, Frans Steyn, Ruben de Haas, Jeandré Rudolph, Aidon Davis, Andisa Ntsila, Reniel Hugo, Carl Wegner (capt),
Khutha Mchunu, Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter.

Bench: Louis van der Westhuizen, Cameron Dawson, Erich de Jager, Oupa
Mohoje, Chris Massy, Tian Meyer, Reinhardt Fortuin, Rhyno Smith.

Pumas: Tapiwa Mafura, Etienne Taljaard, Erich Cronje, Ali Mgijima, Luther Obi, Devon Williams, Chriswill September, Willie Engelbrecht, Phumzile Maqondwana, Daniel Maartens, Pieter Jansen van Vuren (capt), Le Roux Roets, Ignatius Prinsloo, Simon Westraadt,
Morgan Naude.

Bench: AJ le Roux, Dewald Maritz, Wikus Groenewald, Darrien Landsberg, Ewart Potgieter, Ginter Smuts, Tiaan Botes, Wayne van der Bank.

Kickoff: 7pm.

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