The Toyota Cheetahs want to tune in mentally for Friday’s big Currie Cup derby against the Griffons in Welkom. The Cheetahs will want to bounce back following their 25-13 defeat against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria on the weekend.

While the defending champions, thumped the Griffons 82-20 in round one of the Currie Cup, they will also remember what happened when they faced the Purple People Eaters in their backyard in the SA Cup.

The Cheetahs coach, Izak van der Westhuizen, told OFM Sport tuning in mentally will be key. “At the beginning of the week I told them listen, you need to want to go and play there,” said the former Cheetahs lock. “If you go there and you’re not ready they'll beat you, so I think from the start that's our mindset. “We want to go there and we want to play, so hopefully the guys pitch up.”

Izak van der Westhuizen. Photo: Morgan Piek

With regards to the defeat on Friday in the capital city, it seemed like one of those games where things just didn’t work out for the Cheetahs. By the same token, the Bulls played outstanding rugby at times, and they forced the Cheetahs to play in parts of the field where they didn’t want to.

The Currie Cup is however never won in July as the Springbok great Naas Botha always says. One defeat isn’t the end of the road, and Van der Westhuizen added that it’s important to take it on the chin and move on.

“It’s pretty much like you said, it's about putting it behind you and learning from your mistakes,” Van der Westhuizen said.

“We had a good long chat about it the last couple of days and I think we parked it. We know what we need to fix and what we need to sort out for the week coming.”

Friday’s Free State derby in Welkom kicks off at 15:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg/mvh