Preview: Cheetahs v Reds

The Reds were in hot form before the bye, but now face their toughest Test in the form of an African safari. Home town Support will give the inconsistent Cheetahs an edge, but the visitors should do enough to steal this one.

VENUE & TIME: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein, Friday March, 19.10 local (Saturday March 27 06.10 NZT).
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 5 – Cheetahs 3, Reds 2.
LAST TIME: April 28, 2009 (Brisbane) – Reds 22-3 Cheetahs.
LAST TIME AT VENUE: April 28, 2008 – Cheetahs 22-14 Reds.
WALKING WOUNDED: The Cheetahs have been forced to make three replacements this week, as fullback Hennie Daniller (stomach), winger Lionel Mapoe (shoulder) and loose forward Frans Viljoen (jaw) are all unavailable. The Reds settled well after travelling to South Africa earlier than normal and Ewen McKenzie had no injury worries in the touring squad.
FORM:
PAST FIVE Cheetahs:
Round 2: Beat Sharks 25-20
Round 3: Lost to Highlanders 24-31
Round 4: Beat Hurricanes 28-12
Round 5: Bye
Round 6: Lost to Stormers 8-21
PAST FIVE Reds:
Round 2: Beat Crusaders 41-20
Round 3: Lost to Blues 18-27
Round 4: Beat Chiefs 23-18
Round 5: Beat Force 50-10
Round 6: Bye
The Cheetahs have been solid this year, winning and losing in turn, without conceding the high scores that were run up against them in recent seasons. Although they lost to the Stormers last week they made the Cape boys work for it, giving up two tries to one. Like most sides in 2010, however, they found the Stormers’ disciplined defence too hard to break down and could only pick up eight points. The Reds have been something of a revelation this year after six straight double-digit finishes. A number of the players introduced as youngsters over that miserable period are now ready to play at this level and several have improved greatly over anything we’ve seen in the past. Wins over the Crusaders and Chiefs, as well as a 50-pointer against the Force, say the Reds are not a team to be taken lightly this year.
WHO'S HOT: The Cheetahs will rely on their rugged pack to control play as much as possible and here tough guys like hooker Adriaan Strauss, prop Wian du Preez and hard-working loosie Hendro Scholtz will play big parts. There’s plenty of pace out wide if the ball can be shifted and watch for centre Sias Ebersohn, who had a couple of nice touches against the Stormers. The young fella has been written up in South Africa as a coming star and, while he still obviously has a way to go, it looks as if he could well develop quite quickly. One Reds forward who has made big strides this season is flanker Scott Higginbotham, who is now a dangerous runner in broken play and an energetic worker in close quarter stuff. Van Humphries always gives his best in the engine room, powering a much-improved pack. Quade Cooper is another who has come on this year and he has controlled play nicely, while inside centre Anthony Faingaa, after several seasons on the fringes of a regular spot, is now a potent midfield weapon.
WE THINK: No game this weekend is harder to call, as this one has always gone with home advantage in the past but the Reds must be a chance to break the string on Friday. There’s no truth in the rumour we had to toss the coin 17 times before the Reds finally got ahead, but we’re going to call it for the visitors by a couple of points in what promises to be a very hard match.
TEAMS:
Cheetahs: 1.Wian du Preez, 2.Adriaan Strauss, 3.WP Nel, 4.Nico Breedt, 5.Walti Vermeulen, 6.Hendro Scholtz, 7.Juan Smith (captain), 8.Ashley Johnson, 9.Sarel Pretorius, 10.Naas Olivier, 11.Jongi Nokwe, 12.Meyer Bosman, 13.Sias Ebersohn, 14.Danwel Demas, 15.Riaan Viljoen.
Reserves: 16.Skipper Badenhorst, 17.Corne Oosthuizen, 18.Barend Pieterse, 19.Kabamba Floors, 20.Tewis de Bruyn, 21.Corne Uys, 22.Wilmaure Louw.
Reds: 1.Ben Daley, 2. Saia Faingaa, 3.Laurie Weeks, 4. Adam Byrnes, 5. Van Humphries, 6. Scott Higginbotham, 7.Daniel Braid, 8.Leroy Houston, 9.Will Genia (captain), 10. Quade Cooper, 11. Brando Va'aulu, 12.Anthony Faingaa, 13.Morgan Turinui, 14.Will Chambers, 15.Luke Morahan.
Reserves: 16. Sean Hardman, 17.Greg Holmes, 18.Robert Simmons, 19.Jake Schatz, 20. Ben Lucas, 21.Ben Tapuai, 22.Blair Connor.
REFEREE: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)