Head coach Hawies Fourie is excited for the Cheetahs to test themselves against a Springbok-powered Sharks lineup when the local rivals clash in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
Veteran playmaker Ruan Pienaar kicked 18 points as the Cheetahs routed Zebre Parma at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in round 1 of the Challenge Cup on Saturday.
The Sharks made a welcome return to winning ways in the competition with a resounding victory against French outfit Pau in Durban, where double World Cup winners Lukhanyo Am and Eben Etzebeth scored two tries apiece.
“We will have a look at that [performance of the Sharks] and see how we can adapt in the game against the Sharks. I haven’t seen their game yet, I will watch it when we travel back,” Fourie was quoted in the media post-match this weekend.
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“But they’ve beaten Pau by a big margin and they’ve got all their Springboks back so they will be a very tough team to take on next week Sunday.
“It is a big challenge for us to play against a team with a lot of Springboks and the quality they have, but that’s why you want to play in a competition like this, is to play against very good teams with big names to measure yourselves.”
Guided by Pienaar’s pinpoint boot and Cohen Jasper pouncing on a try-scoring opportunity, the Free Staters held a 16-3 lead at half time in Parma, before Reinhardt Fortuin crossed the whitewash in the second half to help complete a 33-15 victory.
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“In any competition you play it is important to start well and we managed to do that,” Fourie added.
“It was difficult to prepare for Zebre in Bloemfontein because of the difference in conditions, but I must compliment the players, they adapted really well.
“Luckily for us it didn’t rain but even if it rained, I felt that we were well enough prepared to adapt and play according to the conditions.
“The forwards did a good job at set piece again, they dominated there and we defended really well, putting a lot of pressure on them. They were not used to our line speed and Zebre made a lot of mistakes.”
Photo: Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images