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The Central Cheetahs Thread

Cheetahs in a Puma shirt.... Does it get better than this?
 
the cheetahs are shite bottom 3 in the super rugby this year for defs !!!
 
the cheetahs are shite bottom 3 in the super rugby this year for defs !!!

They should probably finish around position 12/13, yeah. A lot of that I would say is because of a horrible draw; missing out on the Force and Chiefs both of which would have been games they would have targeted as games they could win. They are still capable of beating anyone at Bloemfontein though and will win a few games. They have made a bit of a habit of beating the big teams; having beaten the Stormers(WP in CC rather), Sharks and Crusaders in recent years.

They have a great pack and if Brussow is back after the first few games they should be more competitive as they are dangerous on the turn-over (I guess everyone is LOL), but their backline gets disrupted every year, this time around they have lost their 4 best players in Jacques Louis Potgieter, Meyer Bosman, Lionel Mapoe and Bjorn Basson, 2 of whom have Springbok caps. In fact, if you look at Springboks the Cheetahs have lost over the last few years: CJ van der Linde, Meyer Bosman, Bjorn Basson, Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Bismarck and Jannnie du Plessis and I'm sure I've missed another one or two. If they could have held on to these players..
 
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A bit of an introduction to the possible Cheetahs line-up

1 Coenie Oosthuizen - Good scrumager and great with ball in hand. Stand-out 2010 season saw him get a call up for the bokke but get limited time.

2 Adriaan Strauss - Bustling hooker. Toured with the Bokke at the end of the year last year. The cousin of another hooker, Richardt Strauss, currently playing for Leinster in Ireland. It's a joy for me to watch the thin blonde hair of both these players flapping when on the charge.

3 WP Nell - Nicknamed Province he moved from WP to Free State (T_T) and was a revelation in 2009. Did not repeat that stellar form in 2010 and has lost 11kgs (125 to 114kg) over the off season to get back into his 2009 shape.

4 Wilhelm Steenkamp / Martin Muller - A position still up for grabs after veteran Nico Breedt moved on. 2nd row is a bit of a worry for the Cheetahs and I wouldn't be surprised to see Juan SMith wear the no4 jersey in a game or two for the Cheetahs as he has in the past.

5 Waltie Vermeulen - More settled in his position but yet to impress at this level.

6 Kabamba Floors / Francois Uys *Heinrich Brussow unfit as yet - The Cheetahs will be wanting to get Brussow back into the Fold ASAP. Frans Viljoen is a good player but him, Smith and Johnson are too similar to have all three play together.

7 Juan Smith (c) - Their best player along with Brussow, the Cheetahs missed him during the first part of the 2010 season and were a team transformed with his return and started winning games towards the end of the season.

8 Ashley Johnson / Frans Viljoen - Johnson is the definition of a mixed bag and go from MotM to villian in the next game. He loves open running games and the big man has pace. Viljoen is a similar type of player to Smith and more suited to tight grinding games. I hope Drotske interchanges these two players wisely.

9 Sarel Pretorius - The Griquas scrummie helped turn the Cheetahs season around last year along with captain Smith and star winger Bjorn Basson. I believe he has shown enough zip to start this season. He is quick in service and likes to have a go at the line.

10 Naas Olivier - Another Griquas player, their captain, his partnership with Pretorius and experience will be valuable. The best choice for the no10 jersey with JlP and Bosman off to the Sharks as he is the most well rounded of the options (Louis Strydom and Sias Ebersohn).

11 Jongi Nokwe - Springbok winger with immense pace. Out of favor with the Bok selectors but still a dangre man when given a little space as he is a natural finisher. Question marks remain over his defense but it has gotten better with experience.

12 Andries Strauss / Morgan Newman / Corne Uys / Wilmaure louw - Hit hard by the decision of Bosman to move, this a weak spot in the Cheetahs team IMO. Louw has shown glimpses of making the step up and I hope the Griquas player gets the chance to do so. Newman and Strauss are probably the ones with the inside track though with Newman as a new signing from the Stormers where he wouldn't get a look in. A solid enough if limited player his carreer high point is probably playing for the emerging Boks against the B&I Lions to a draw in 2009. Strauss is also a solid but limited player having been signed from the Sharks. He did however have a huge game for the Sharks in the CC final and if he could recreate that form for the Cheetahs the 12 jersey could turn into a strong point for the Cheetahs.

13 Robert Ebersohn - SA 7s star and youth group Springbok that has shown a lot of promise but yet to produce it consistently. Had developed a good understanding with Meyer Bosman but will have to do so now with whoever gts the spot inside him. There is an outside chance that we could see winger/center Philip Snyman at 13 to add some bulk to the backline.

14 Fabian Juries / Ryno Benjamin / Philip Burger - With Basson and 7's star Lionel Mapoe moving to the Bulls and Lions respectively its up to one of these ex 7's players (Fabian Juries is the SA 7's highest ever points scorer) to fill their shoes. Very similar players; small and deadly given the least bit of space.

15 Hennie Daniller / Riaan Viljoen - Viljoen is a great if somewhat hot-and-cold talent and earned himself a Springbok call-up in 2009. This Griquas fullback could do some damage from the back if given the chance. Daniller o the other hand is arguably the Free States best back and had a good 2010 season. If Viljoen is the line breaker and game maker, Daniller is a steadier influence and great for generating go forward ball and the odd off-load in the tackle. Both players have boots as big or bigger than Frans Steyn.
 
Nice to see Philip Burger back from Italy. Blistering pace and hope he doesn't injure himself with his swan like dives when he scores tries.
Sarel Pretorius is in my view the 2nd best scrum-half after Fourie du Preez - he should have toured and not Big Mac January.
Andries Strauss bulked up a lot and brilliant on defence. Few know that he is also related to the Andries Strauss.
I like Frans Viljoen's work rate and Ashley Johnson's unpredictability. Juan Smith is and will always be a destructive runner and sold defender.
But they need the PitBull Heinrich Brussow back as soon as possible.
Do not discard front row out for a moment, they are very potent.

They just might surprise a few teams this year, starting with the Sharks on Saturday
 
Pretorius suffered an alarming dip in form in the CC last year, he needs to calm down just a tad, otherwise he will continue to make the mistakes that lose games, which will overshadow the moments he conjures up that win games


@ stormer2010

No bench? :p
&
Why 'Central Cheetahs'? I've never (up until now) heard anyone calling them that, is that their actual commercial name?
 
Nice to see Philip Burger back from Italy. Blistering pace and hope he doesn't injure himself with his swan like dives when he scores tries.
Sarel Pretorius is in my view the 2nd best scrum-half after Fourie du Preez - he should have toured and not Big Mac January.
Andries Strauss bulked up a lot and brilliant on defence. Few know that he is also related to the Andries Strauss.
I like Frans Viljoen's work rate and Ashley Johnson's unpredictability. Juan Smith is and will always be a destructive runner and sold defender.
But they need the PitBull Heinrich Brussow back as soon as possible.
Do not discard front row out for a moment, they are very potent.

They just might surprise a few teams this year, starting with the Sharks on Saturday

Oh, I never knew Andries and Adiraan were also related along with Richardt. Talented family. Yes, people are writing off the Cheetahs like always but they have managed to stay competitive in my view and the Griquas are a good side to get hep from at a pinch. Brussow would certainly add a lot and I see Smith is also not playing against the Sharks. Pity. The 2nd row and centres still where they lack IMO.

Pretorius suffered an alarming dip in form in the CC last year, he needs to calm down just a tad, otherwise he will continue to make the mistakes that lose games, which will overshadow the moments he conjures up that win games


@ stormer2010

No bench? :p
&
Why 'Central Cheetahs'? I've never (up until now) heard anyone calling them that, is that their actual commercial name?

Agreed. He has serious talent but is likely to through that 50/50 pass that shouldn't have been thrown.

LOL, well the bench is kinda implied in some instances but I will post the match day line-up now which will end the debate LOL.

As for the Central Cheetahs; we are still waiting on the sponsor announcement and the Cheetahs represent central SA: cheetahs, griquas and griffons and not just the Free State. Also I like the descriptiveness and alleteration always looks better LOL.


http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=28888

Cheetahs to face the Sharks:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Philip Burger, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Ryno Benjamin, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Kabamba Floors, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Frans Viljoen, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Kobus Calldo, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Riaan Viljoen.

Surprised to see Johnson and Vermeulen on the bench; maybe they want to bring those strong ball carriers on at the end and play a tight game to start off with. That or the others impressed during the Cheetahs trials which remained largely a mystery. Other than that the starting XV looks pretty much full strength except for Smith (not sure why he is out) and the injured Brussow who was always only going to play from week 5/6 onward.

That is the best looking Cheetahs bench I've seen for a few years and I'm glad they are backing some of the better Griquas players (Pretorius, Olivier, Viljoen).
 
It looks like there is still an outside chance that Juan Smith will play against the Sharks this week. That and the Cheetahs' sponsor will be announced today (the sponsor was announced yesterday evening but i can't find a news link on it yet).
 
Toyota is the new sponsor of the Cheetahs. Nice. Expect to see a lot of Hilux's around the Bloemfontein area. Even more than now LOL.

Apparently the deal is for 3 years and is comparable to other sponsorship deal in SA. Well done, Cheetahs. Hopefully the can bring some more star through the system and this tie round hold on to them.

http://www.superxv.com/news/super15_rugby_news.asp?id=28896

Still no news on Juan Smith? With Brussow and Nokwe injured it looks like the Cheetahs are without any recognized Springboks for the first part of the tourey.
 
Wrong thread. Besides, the Sharks will be competing for that 6th position along with the Blues so you should think before you 'shout' LOL.

Yeah true but I cant help to think the Sharks will take this one, to be fair on the Cheetahs I only know Juan Smith and Brussow so I dont know too much about them.

Sorry about the wrong thread wont disturb it again.
 
Yeah true but I cant help to think the Sharks will take this one, to be fair on the Cheetahs I only know Juan Smith and Brussow so I dont know too much about them.

Sorry about the wrong thread wont disturb it again.


The Sharks should win this one, yeah. Getting a bonus point would be great for the Cheetahs. They have a bad draw and miss some of the 'weaker' teams so for them to get points they will have to stage an upset or two. Will be tough with 3 of their best players out at the moment in Smith, Brussow and Nokwe.
 
The Cheetahs's captain in the absence of Juan Smith, Adriaan Strauss, is out of the competition with a broken hand.

That is all 4 their senior players and Springboks now unavailable (Smith, Brussow, Nokwe, Strauss). It looks like their season is over even before it has begun. Bulls and Stormers should pick up easy wins in their fixtures against the Cheetahs before the return of Smith or Brussow with the Cheetahs's depth in experience and leadership allready exhausted at this point.

TBH the only game I can see them as possible favourites is the one later in the competition against the Rebels in Bloem and only if they manage to get key injured players back without losing more along the way. Best of luck.

I don't know who would take over captaincy at this stage. Probably Frans Viljoen or Griquas captain Naas Olivier are the likeliest candidates with Kabamba Floors another senior player who might get considered.
 
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Bad news for Cheetahs, did he get injured during the game?

It was hard enough to stay awake (and dry for that matter) during that game, never mind looking to see opposition subs!
 
I am pretty sure it happened during the match. I don't think Adriaan is the type of guy that hits his fist against a wall after a loss and break his hand doing so ;)
 

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