Away from the snowy conditions in Ireland and the UK, Connacht will be the only Irish side in GUINNESS PRO14 action this weekend when they take on the Toyota Cheetahs in a crucial Conference A clash in Bloemfontein.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, March 3
TOYOTA CHEETAHS (3rd, Con A) v CONNACHT (5th, Con A), Toyota Stadium, 7.35pm local time/5.35pm Irish time (live Sky Sports Action/SuperSport 1/highlights TG4)
Team News: Ireland lock Ultan Dillane has returned to the Connacht team to face the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in the GUINNESS PRO14 on Saturday night.
The inclusion of centre Pita Ahki is the only other change to the side that beat Benetton Rugby in Treviso last Saturday. Ahki will form a centre partnership with Eoin Griffin who scored the match-winning 73rd-minute try against the Italians.
Connacht confirmed on Friday afternoon that Ahki’s short-term contract with the province will come to an end at the end of this season. “We would like to take this opportunity to thank Pita for his contribution to Connacht Rugby during his time here and wish him and his family all the best for the future,” concluded the province’s statement.
The back-three in South Africa remains unchanged with wingers Matt Healy and Cian Kelleher and full-back Tiernan O’Halloran all being retained. O’Halloran, Denis Buckley, Jarrad Butler and Niyi Adeolokun all featured last weekend after returning from respective injuries, and all four are fully fit to face the Cheetahs this time out.
With an extended squad of 25 players, Connacht travelled from Italy last Sunday on to Bloemfontein where they have been training this week and acclimatising to soaring temperatures of up to 30 degrees.
Having previously coached in Super Rugby, Connacht head coach Kieran Keane has faced the Cheetahs on a number of occasions and is well aware of how difficult it is to beat the South African side on home soil.
“I think everyone is familiar with their style of play. They play some really exciting and attacking rugby. They played like that when they came to the Sportsground and they were hard to beat. They are even harder to beat when they are playing at home and only one team has managed it since they joined the PRO14,” said Keane.
“It’s a massive challenge but one we are really relishing. We will be focusing on our game-plan and what we can control and hopefully delivering a winning performance on Saturday.”
In what will be his last occasion playing rugby in the southern Hemisphere, the westerners’ long-serving captain John Muldoon is determined to come away from Bloemfontein with an important victory.
“The game will be kicking off at 7.35pm in the evening South African time so hopefully heat won’t be as big of a factor as during the day. We have trained in the middle of the day all week so by the time the game comes on Saturday evening we should be well adjusted to it,” said Muldoon.
“But the conditions are only one part of the game and it can be an excuse if you want it to be. There is no doubt that the Cheetahs are a very good attacking side. If you give them time and space they will hurt you.
“We have to be smart in how we play the game and we don’t want to give them huge opportunities to run the ball. If we fall into that trap, we will be in big trouble regardless of other factors.”
Meanwhile, following a three-week tour of Wales and Scotland, the Cheetahs return home with head coach Rory Duncan making three personnel changes to the team that lost 27-26 to the Ospreys in Swansea.
Malcolm Jaer has a hand injury so Luther Obi gets the nod on the left wing, while Zee Mkhabela comes in for Shaun Venter (groin) at scrum half. The only alteration up front sees Ox Nche replace Charles Marais in a straight swap at loosehead prop.
Duncan, whose side lost all three of their recent games in the UK, said: “Our approach is to take each game as it comes. Obviously we prepare to win the game and a win will contribute to a play-off position.”
Tighthead prop Johan Coetzee will win his 50th cap for the Cheetahs, a feat that fit-again scrum half Tian Meyer could match as one of the replacements. Despite their recent run of defeats, the South Africans are still third in the Conference A table – two places and 11 points better off than Connacht.
TOYOTA CHEETAHS: Clayton Blommetjies; Craig Barry, Francois Venter (capt), Nico Lee, Luther Obi; Niel Marais, Zee Mkhabela; Ox Nche, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Johan Coetzee, Justin Basson, Reniel Hugo, Paul Schoeman, Henco Venter, Uzair Cassiem.
Replacements: Jacques du Toit, Charles Marais, Tom Botha, Renier Bernardo, Oupa Mohoje, Tian Meyer, Fred Zeilinga, Sibhale Maxano.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Cian Kelleher, Eoin Griffin, Pita Ahki, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, James Cannon, Sean O’Brien, Jarrad Butler, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Denis Coulson, Dominic Robertson McCoy, Gavin Thornbury, Eoghan Masterson, James Mitchell, Craig Ronaldson, Niyi Adeolokun.
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Ben Crouse, Jaco Kotze (both South Africa)
Television Match Official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Toyota Cheetahs to win: 1/3; Draw: 22/1; Connacht to win: 11/5
Pre-Match Quotes: John Muldoon (Connacht) – “Going over to Italy (last week) was all about getting a performance, but also winning the game. It wasn’t pretty and we made some mistakes but we got the job done. That set us up well for our travel. We spoke about getting the result to make it easier. It’s always easier getting up in the morning when you have that win.
“We’ve had a good week. We got through our sessions fine, albeit in very warm temperatures on and off the pitch. We wanted to acclimatise and get used to it. We chose to come here to Bloemfontein straight away, while other teams like Leinster stayed in Cape Town and only flew in the night before. We chose to come down and get used to the lack of oxygen.
“I was in Johannesburg a few years ago and the country has changed a lot even since then. We have met some very nice people in the hotel, and it’s been a real pleasure. We got a chance to do a safari as a team on Wednesday, and we went to dinner as a group a few times, so we got that bit of bonding in which is a crucial part of it.
“The disappointing thing now is we could have moved very close to the Cheetahs this weekend. But defeat to Zebre a couple of weeks ago means there is still a bit of gap. This game is still an eight-pointer and it would be great to get a win over here.
“A lot of us are treating this trip like the one we made to Siberia in 2015/16. We are enjoying each other’s company and time together. You can get a lot of really good work done together. You are with each other in the evening time so you can come up with extra options in lineouts.
“If we are in Galway we would head home in the evening time. But here we can meet up and do those extras. We can come up with some ideas and explore ones that have been left on the back burner for a while. We are taking it in our stride and cannot wait to pit our wits against the Cheetahs on Saturday evening.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Toyota Cheetahs – Points: Fred Zeilinga 79; Tries: Makazole Mapimpi 10; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 98; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran, Tom Farrell 4 each
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Toyota Cheetahs – Played 16, Won 8, Lost 8, 43 Points; L 42-19 v Ulster (away), L 51-18 v Munster (away), W 54-39 v Zebre (home), W 38-19 v Leinster (home), W 44-25 v Ospreys (home), L 29-26 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 24-23 v Zebre (away), L 23-15 v Connacht (away), W 33-13 v Edinburgh (home), W 28-21 v Scarlets (home), L 27-21 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 45-21 v Southern Kings (away), W 45-24 v Southern Kings (home), L 25-20 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 37-23 v Glasgow Warriors (away), L 27-26 v Ospreys (away); Connacht – Played 16, Won 6, Lost 10, 32 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 36-30 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 24-10 v Zebre (away), W 44-16 v Ulster (home), L 21-18 v Leinster (away), L 39-13 v Munster (away), W 26-15 v Ospreys (home), L 19-11 v Zebre (home), W 22-19 v Benetton Rugby (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, November 4, 2017 – Connacht 23 Toyota Cheetahs 15, the Sportsground
MATCH FACTS:
– The Toyota Cheetahs have slipped to three straight defeats in the GUINNESS PRO14 but those have come on visits to Wales (two) and Scotland
– The Cheetahs have lost just once at home so far this season: 29-26 to Glasgow Warriors in round 6
– Connacht have won just three times in the PRO14 since round 8, but two of those have been in the last three fixtures
– Connacht’s 22-19 victory in Treviso last Saturday was their first success on the road since they visited Edinburgh last April
– The two sides have met just once before with Connacht winning 23-15 in Galway in round 8
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