The South African derby on Sunday should see the Stormers strengthen their position even further as top of the South African Conference table.
Currently, the Stormers sit on 30 points with the Bulls snapping at their heels on 29. The Lions sit at 26 and the Sharks at 21 and the Cheetahs at 16.
At the moment, the Conference leadership is still wide open – except for the luckless Cheetahs
The 2015 season has seen the Cheetahs play 10 matches with three wins.
Usually, one would give the Cheetahs some points for having the home ground advantage, considering the fact that Saturday’s match is at Bloemfontein
However, the Cheetahs have played four matches at home and only won one. This does not augur well for them as the Stormers will be desperate to continue their winning streak, having won their last three matches in a row.
On top of this, the Stormers have also played 10 matches, winning 7. They have played 6 matches away from home and won four of them.
The Bulls are breathing down their neck and the Lions and the Sharks are not yet out of the race.
The biggest issue facing the Cheetahs is their defence. They have leaked 300 points in 10 matches, an average of 30 points per game. Needless to say this is the worst defensive record of any team in the Super Rugby Rugby Competition.
Compare this to the Stormers who have given up 194 points in 10 matches, the lowest of any of the South African franchises.
No rugby team on the planet can hope to have any measure of success while leaking 30 points a game.
No doubt Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske is under immense pressure in the unforgiving world that is South African rugby.
He has made more changes to his backline than a runway supermodel in an effort to reverse his sides flagging fortunes.
The Cheetahs backline is gone – all except for scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and Joe Pietersen, who moves from No 15 to No 10.
There is an entirely new centre partnership with Michael van der Spuy at No 12 and Francois Venter at 13.
The No 15 jersey is being worn by Clayton Blommetjies who comes from the bench.
Sergeal Petersen gets his first taste of Super Rugby rugby on the left wing, with Rayno Benjamin moving to right wing.
Cornal Hendricks is rested in line with the franchise’s agreement to rest top Springbok players.
In the forwards, Danie Minnie loses out at loosehead prop to Caylib Oosthuizen, and it’s anybody’s guess who the starting tighthead will be with Coenie Oosthuizen being bracketed with Maks van Dyk.
The Stormers have made minimal changes to their line-up from the one that narrowly defeated the bulls last week 15-13. In only three changes, they welcome back Dillyn Leyds on the wing, and have rested props Steven Kitshoff and lock Eben Etzebeth, in line with the South African teams’ agreements with South Africa rugby.
Oli Kebble replaces Kitshoff in his first run on appearance, while Jean Kleyn will join Ruan Botha at lock.
Ominously for the Cheetahs, starting tighthead prop Frans Malherbe and replacement scrumhalf Louis Schreuder are both set to win their 50th caps for the Stormers. One can rest assured that neither of these players will be looking to put in an under par performance in such a personally memorable match.
The reality of rugby is that anything can happen and all local derbies like this provide a glimmer of hope for the underdog. The game will be tough as all of these games are, but there are key fundamental deficiencies in the Cheetahs’ outfit, that let them down at crucial moments. If the Stormers had more of a cushion, the Cheetah’s could always hope they come into the match with a degree of complacency – but this is not the case.
They know that if they do not come in all guns blazing the Cheetahs could cause them trouble.
Everyone loves to see the underdog get up but I simply cannot see it on Saturday. The backline shuffle is of such magnitude that if the Stormers apply sufficient pressure, it all may go pear shaped for the Cheetahs.
Stormers to win.
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