Ironic, even for irony itself.

Posted on by

The Cheetahs have completed their 2012 Currie Cup season, and this will surely go down as the worst Currie Cup season for the franchise in the last 16 years. They ended bottom of the log after failing to beat Western Province, who received all their Springbok players the week before the game.

 

If I were to choose a team to play in the final round with returning Boks, I would definitely not have chosen the Cape Town franchise, but if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Well, now the Cheetahs will have to beat the best First Division team, the EP Kings in the coming two weeks, once in Bloemfontein and once in Port Elizabeth. The irony in this is that is no secret that the Free State voted against the Lions in their Super Rugby battle and voted the team they are facing now, the EP Kings into next years competition. Most Lions supporters would feel a small piece of justice has been served by the Cheetahs ending last on the log and fittingly have to fight for their place in the Currie Cup against the EP Kings.

 

One has to put your money on the Cheetahs though, but judging by their performances this year, the Kings might just stand a chance on confidence, the Cheetahs will have to make sure that they do not become complacent.

 

There is also finally a bit of a stir in the coaching box and we might finally see the end of the Naka era and hopefully see a Head Coach with some vision as well as tactical and defensive experience, maybe someone along the lines of a Cheetahs ex-centre, namely Brendon Venter. There will also be a meeting and a possible reshuffle of the top brass at the union, whether the Cheetahs win or lose says President of the FSRU Lindsay Mould. In his defence Herold Verster has lashed out against people saying the union is being mismanaged, but I cannot see how a big franchise with Grey College in their mitts struggle to hold onto players from a junior level.

 

It also deserves to be mentioned that the Cheetahs have suffered 16 big name injuries this year, but that is no excuse, they have to step up to the plate this Friday and had better win, if they were to lose the P/R game, they would be known as the worst Free State team to jog onto the field in the last 24 years…

 

Cheetahs forward coach, the legendary prop Os du Randt says there will be no scrum issues this weekend in their front row like they had last weekend, Kaplan will be blowing the whistle in the match again, but Os says they have tweaked some technical aspects of the scrum and should be a force to be reckoned with. Os also mentioned on Monday when he contacted Kaplan to speak about the scrum penalties, that the WP used their good old Sling-Shot scrum and if Kaplan sees it as legal, the Cheetahs will use it this weekend against the Kings.

 

There are a lot of big names commenting on the promotion/relegation game, and Frik de Preez makes a very good point, this is in Afrikaans so for those who don’t understand it, use the following link to translate:

 

Braam van Straten, old-Springbok, say it is sad that the Toyota Free State Cheetahs have to play in the relegation-match, but feels that there is no reason for the central team to worry:

“Die Toyota Vrystaat Cheetahs het in die laaste 20 minute teen die Westelike Provinsie bewys hy hoort steeds in die Curriebeker-reeks. Daar is geen twyfel dat hy die Kings sal wen nie.

Die Cheetahs is in ’n ander klas as die Kings. Hy hoef nie te kommer nie.”

Frik du Preez,rugby player of the millennium, feels the Cheetahs will beat the Kings:
“Vrystaat sal daai ouens (Kings) in hulle moere in speel. Wat is die doel van relegasie? Rugby het ’n professionele sport geword, maar die administrasie daarvan is nog in die amateur-era.”

Also Nelie Smit, old-Springbok én FS Coach, feels that the Cheetahs will be able to beat the EP Kings:

“Die Toyota Vrystaat Cheetahs kan beslis die Kings klop, as hy minder foute maak. Die span word geteister deur beserings, maar hy moet eenvoudig wen. Ek glo hy sal wen.”

 

Go Cheetahs!!!! Show these Watson jokes what real rugby is about!!

 

References: www.sport24.co.za, www.fscheetahs.co.za

27 thoughts on “Ironic, even for irony itself.”

  1. And as for the FS rugby union, they have the potential to be one of the strongest sides in CC and SR. I don’t rate Naka as a coach, so if they can get a decent coach and get their admin together they can only do well. Especially with all the talent from Grey coming through.. Good luck to them!

  2. I like it a lot that FS now has to play relegation game! Serves them right for stabbing the Lions in the back when it came to voting.. But I’d rather have them in CC than the Kings, so I hope they win a nailbiter (let half the FS supporters have a minor heart attack first).

    And as for WP, I hope the Lions beat their springbok loaded team this weekend. They also deserve a snotklap after voting the Lions out and then snapping up all their best players for SR. It was a win-win situation for them.

    So, go Lions, go Sharks and go Cheetahs this weekend!

    • Like is said on the Bryce story blog, only weak people fold under the pressure from social media, the actual reason Bryce quit or was forced to quit was because the IRB and SANZAR was scared to send him to RSA to ref a game, so they had to shuffle the SR, Rugby Championship and other International games’ caleders to suite him, which just became to much of a nightmare so another plan was made, so NZRU gave him the high performance job, how is a Facebook page in South Africa for South Africans going to have the same effect?

      I am no Naka fan at all and anybody here will confirm that, but I guess you Facebook page is a start, I hope Lindsay Mould was not making empty promises.

  5. Lol, then where do the WP fit in, with the irony story, as they too voted against the Lions, and unlike the Cheetahs, still had the temerity to call on Lions players for S15. This whole “we were betrayed” is BS, as the biggest beneficiary of the Lions demise has been the Stormers, and the Kings! Stormers gained Jantjies, and Taute.

  6. Imagine Nick Mallett with all of the talent the free state has to offer…

    8 boks in the last game were old Grey’s….

    But, the union should clean out from the top, change the admin staff and then the coaches… new brooms sweep the cleanest

  7. Like I said, we have a fair fighting chance, where as the Lions were forced out. But like you mentioned now, the Kings are calling it unfair and just want to get promoted again, give them a finger and they want the whole arm.

    I was expecting a little smirk from your side enjoying the irony in all of it.

    I just hope the Cheetahs destroy they fools and break them before Super Rugby starts giving you guys an easy re-entry. (if that happens)

  8. This is the first time since 1998 that the Cheetahs isn’t in the CC semi finals!

    The problem is, the warning signs have been there for a while now. The Cheetahs lack of defence has cost them numerous games and for some reason the coaching staff never really addressed the problem. There “defence” could cost them the games.

    I see some Kings supporters is saying it’s “unfair” to have a B division team play off against an A division team. Ai.

    Well, at least the Cheetahs still gets the opportunity to play for their spot.

    • Like I said, we have a fair fighting chance, where as the Lions were forced out. But like you mentioned now, the Kings are calling it unfair and just want to get promoted again, give them a finger and they want the whole arm.

      I was expecting a little smirk from your side enjoying the irony in all of it.

      I just hope the Cheetahs destroy they fools and break them before Super Rugby starts giving you guys an easy re-entry. (if that happens)

      • haha it was a Cheetahs B-side, with Goosen, Brüssouw, Smith, Prinsloo, Ferreira, Oosthuizen, Van Zyl, Viljoen, Floors, Smith and losing Labaschagne and Nico Scheepers of early the Cheetahs played without 11 first team players! Still thrashed them!




Leave a Reply