Cheetahs coach not happy that they can't train on 'mud bath' Dragons pitch
The recent surrendering of their place in the play-off bracket has made it critical for the Toyota Cheetahs to end their PRO14 Rugby tour on a winning note but apart from their Dragons opponents they are going to have deal with the obstacle placed in their way by Storm Jorge.
The latest weather system to hit Ireland and the UK is due to make landfall on Saturday and in some places winds gusting between 150 to 200 km an hour are anticipated as well as heavy rain.
According to Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie the ground at Newport where Saturday night’s game will be played is already so wet and muddy that it is doubtful his team will be allowed to go there for the usual pre-match captain’s practice.
The Cheetahs have encountered some pretty inclement conditions already on their northern hemisphere trips in their current campaign but Fourie fears the conditions for this game could be a case of “you ain’t seen nothing yet” as the predictions are particularly dire.
“These will definitely be the toughest conditions we have encountered so far,” said Fourie, who watched his team lose to Leinster in a Dublin downpour two weeks ago.
“In addition to rain, a huge wind is expected, and the field is already wet. It doesn’t look like we are going to be allowed onto the field before the game. So in addition to the strong wind, the game is also likely to be played in a mud bath. That is a leveller in any rugby match.
“The Dragons have a bit of experience of the conditions as they played the Warriors last week in Glasgow in very bad conditions. They scored three tries and didn’t lose that game by much. But we are determined to end the tour on a high note. If we can’t train at the match venue we will look for an alternative field in Cardiff to train on. It isn’t ideal, but there’s not much you can do about it.”
The reason this is such an important game for the Cheetahs is because the Warriors have moved three points ahead of them into third place in Conference A. The top three teams advance to the play-offs. The positive aspect for the Cheetahs this weekend is that the Warriors will be away to Leinster, who are unbeaten and will be overwhelming favourites to win.
That means a win over the Dragons, who under normal circumstances would start as underdogs against the Cheetahs because they are 13 points behind them on the table, should leapfrog the Cheetahs back into the play-off bracket ahead of a run of home games.
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The Cheetahs do have a massive advantage at home because of the heat and the altitude, but they will want to return with the edge over the Warriors that a win in Newport will give them. They will know by kick-off if they are playing for third place as the Leinster/Warriors game is to be played on Friday night.
The Cheetahs’ task has been further skewed by the suspension served on ace loose-forward Jasper Wiese for dangerous play against Ulster. Wiese is out for four weeks. Chris Massyn is also out with an injury so Fourie has to make two changes to his back row, with Aidon Davids and Gerhard Olivier coming in.
While the Cheetahs will be disadvantaged by the conditions, the Isuzu Southern Kings will be looking forward to getting reacquainted with their own conditions when they host Connacht at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday. While pleased to be home though, their coach Robbi Kempson doesn’t believe that the Eastern Cape conditions disadvantages visiting teams as much as his team is disadvantaged when they go overseas.
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“If we had 35 degrees heat here then it would favour us, but the weather is much milder at the coast,” said Kempson.
“It is much more difficult travelling there. The guys really didn’t appreciate the weather the last time they were there. It was particularly bad. But we play in a northern hemisphere competition so we just have to learn to adapt to the conditions.”
Kempson reckons his team’s best performance of the season was the away loss to Connacht so he’s anticipating a good match against what he considers a formidable team that will be smarting from last week’s unexpectedly big loss to Edinburgh.
“It was our best performance but they still managed to get one over us. Andy Friend is an excellent coach, they have an abrasive pack and players out wide that are very dangerous. They played well in Europe this year and we are expecting that kind of performance from them.”
PRO14
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments