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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Results probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to comments