If it is ever possible to isolate the exact moment at which a team’s season reaches the point of no return, then in a few months’ time remember the 48th minute of the Cheetahs’ game against the Crusaders in Christchurch. Leading 14-10 after a first half of scrum collapses and turnovers, the Cheetahs lost fullback Willie le Roux to the sin bin. In the next seven minutes the Crusaders registered four converted tries to take the score to 38-14.
The Cheetahs were unbeaten at the end of week three, with wins against the Sharks and Blues as well as a bye. Since then things have gone somewhat pear-shaped, with defeats in Bloemfontein by the Bulls and the Sharks and last week’s somewhat comprehensive 57-14 reverse on the road.
This week they take on the high-flying Chiefs at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton. To put their dilemma in perspective, in 2013 at the same venue the final score was Chiefs 45, Cheetahs 3.
Remarkable as that scoreline might seem, the last meeting between the two was more so. Down 34-10 in Bloemfontein at half-time, the Chiefs threw caution to the wind and scored after the final hooter to register a 43-43 draw. It was, remarkably, the Chiefs’ second draw in as many weeks on their South African tour.
The previous week against the Bulls in Pretoria, they scored 19 points in the last 12 minutes to finish 34-34.
Fresh hope
The last thing left in Pandora’s box was hope, and Naka Drotske’s men might want to draw some inspiration from the exploits of the Lions over the past three weeks. Wins in Auckland and Melbourne have given fresh hope to the Lions after a desperately disappointing start to the season on home soil.
Indeed, it’s not stretching credulity too far to suggest that the Lions could now be leading the South African conference, instead of languishing in 11th spot on the combined log. They should have won both of their home games, but some poor decision-making at key moments saw them lose 22-8 to the Hurricanes and 22-19 to the Stormers.
The coaching staff must look back on those contests with huge regret, wondering quite why they chose to search for tries instead of taking relatively simple kicks at goal. There was more to it, of course, for flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff had a crisis of confidence with the boot against the Hurricanes, which affected the reaction of the home side to the referee’s whistle.
It is plain, however, that somewhat belatedly the Lions have learned from that frustrating February evening in Johannesburg. The Hurricanes controlled the ball for just nine and a half minutes on the night and spent the rest of the time tackling.
The Lions have now beaten the Blues and Rebels in similar fashion, with stalwart forwards Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenberg and Franco Mostert producing some heroic tackling statistics.
The reward for the Lions is that they end their tour in Brisbane this week against a Reds team that has a solitary win against the Force to their name this year and is scoring on average just less than eight points a match. A win for the visitors would give them three on the road and a whole new perspective on the rest of the season.
As the Lions’ peregrinations come to an end the Stormers’ are just beginning. Well rested after last week’s bye, Allister Coetzee’s men take on the Highlanders in Dunedin. They haven’t lost to the South Islanders since 2007, a run of six wins on the trot.
One mighty scrum
But they have to prove they have more strings to their bow than one mighty scrum. The Newlands faithful were ecstatic at the way the Stormers’ forwards dominated the Chiefs two weeks ago, but the final score was 28-19 in favour of the visitors. The Highlanders are more than capable of using scraps of possession in similar fashion and if the Stormers are genuine title contenders this is the moment to prove it.
Defeat for the Stormers would probably see a substantial shake-up in the log, as they only lead the Sharks by one point and the Bulls by two.
Despite the nonavailability for various reasons of a number of Springboks, the Sharks have the easier task this week against the Force. They are on a six-match winning streak against their Australian opponents whose only win this year was against the Waratahs in week one.
By contrast, the Bulls take on the Crusaders at Loftus in another clash that should reveal whether either has enough firepower to lift the trophy this season. Traditionally, it has been a high-quality contest with home advantage deciding the winner on the past eight occasions.
Given the fact that the Bulls only managed the narrowest of wins against the Force last week, and the Crusaders put the Cheetahs to the sword, that statistic might be in peril. But the Bulls have shown enough in recent weeks to suggest that they might yet have a say in the destiny of the title. They have a functional pack and two backs, Handré Pollard and Jesse Kriel, for whom the sky is the limit.