Ruan Pienaar Cheetahs Currie Cup

The Cheetahs rediscovered their form at just the right time to defeat the Bulls in Bloemfontein to seal top spot on the Currie Cup standings. Photo: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

Currie Cup Premier Division: Cheetahs 33-32 Griquas – As it happened

The Cheetahs host Griquas in a match they might feel they need to win in order to stay in touch with the top four teams in the Currie Cup.

Ruan Pienaar Cheetahs Currie Cup

The Cheetahs rediscovered their form at just the right time to defeat the Bulls in Bloemfontein to seal top spot on the Currie Cup standings. Photo: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

Cheetahs vs Griquas: The hosts will be desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive against the visitors from Kimberley.

Cheetahs vs Griquas – LIVE scores

Preview

“We’ve shown glimpses of what we can do and had too many soft moments to let teams in. The short turnaround is tough on the bodies but I think it is the same for everyone,” Pienaar said.

“I don’t think the log table justifies the way we’ve played this season. We’ve had a really tough start to the season with Covid and injuries and a few narrow losses. It could easily have gone differently and we might have been second or third on the log.

“We have a young group and a lot of new players. Things don’t just happen overnight and we know that there is a process that we need to follow.We need to back the coaches and the management and what they expect of us and just do that better. It might take some time, but we’ll get there.

“Griquas is a tough team and they’ve played some really good rugby. They’ve beaten some of the top teams in this season both home and away and we know that it’s a massive challenge.

“It is always a big battle against Griquas. They have a really good game plan and I think they’ve evolved a lot as a team since we last played them. They’ll come here with confidence.

“We’ve got to be up for it. It’s another derby against Griquas which is always exciting to watch. We’ve prepared well and hopefully put up a positive performance.”

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Cheetahs skipper Ruan Pienaar wants the team to find their feet in the tournament and kick on to make the playoffs.

Teams

Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Craig Barry, 13 David Brits, 12 Siya Masuka, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Jean Droste, 4 Victor Sekekete, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson

Substitutes: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Reinier Viljoen, 21 Mihlali Mosi, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Chris Smit

Griquas

15 Ashlon Davids, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Chris Hollis, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 James Verity-Amm, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 7 Hanru Sirgel, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Stefan Willemse, 4 Adr2 Smith, 3 Erich de Jager, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Mox Mxoli

Substitutes from: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Andries Schutte, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Luyolo Dapula, 21 Raegan Oranje, 22 André Swarts, 23 Ederies Arendse, 24 Andrew Kuhn, 25 Cameron Lindsay, 26 Fiela Boshoff