Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie has lamented his side’s second half performance despite them beating the Pumas 53-31 in their Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked clash on Saturday.
The Cheetahs hosted the Pumas in Bloemfontein for what was both teams’ campaign opener and they put their visitors to the sword, outscoring them eight tries to four.
The first half in particular was a spectacular display of pace, power, precision and execution; but the Cheetahs lost their way somewhat in the second half as they leaked 28 points from four converted tries and conceded a yellow card.
At a virtual media conference post-game, Fourie voiced his unhappiness with his team’s sloppiness after the break.
‘The first half was good, we had a good plan and stuck with it in that half. We made just one handling error in the half,’ he said.
‘Second half I wasn’t happy with. As a team we just made too many mistakes and our discipline let us down. Our set piece, defence, discipline were all bad. We need to work on that,’ Fourie explained.
Notwithstanding that second half display, the Cheetahs had several debutants in their match-day squad, but Fourie was particularly impressed by the performances of two new recruits.
‘Frans [Steyn] played well. he controlled the game, kicked well tactically and made a few big hits on defence,’ Fourie raved. ‘And Andisa [Ntsila] played well too, especially at the breakdown. He made a few turnovers and won a crucial penalty.’
When probed about the hosts substitutions he made early on in the second half, Fourie confirmed that he wanted to ensure every player gets game-time before their match against the Vodacom Bulls next week.
‘We had the Bulls game in mind,’ he said. ‘It’s a short turnaround to next Friday so after half-time when we felt the game was in the bag, I made the subs.’
Photo: Frikkie Kapp/Gallo Images
