The Toyota Cheetahs are just more than a week away from the kick-off of their Currie Cup title defence and they are geared and ready for action.

The Cheetahs have bolstered their squad with the seasoned former Lions and Pumas hooker Corné Fourie who has also previously played for Gloucester in England.

While the Cheetahs have only played the one ‘warm-up’ game heading into their title defence, the Director of Rugby, Frans Steyn, told OFM Sport that he feels they are on the right track.

“I think the guys are looking good, and the areas we focused on have improved,” said Steyn.

“I think we can still do better in some areas and that will take, but we're on the right track.”

Steyn is also happy with the process on the newly contracted players, most of whom come from the Varsity Cup. He is especially excited to see how the speedy man-mountain Prince Nkabinde will perform when he gets his chance.

“There a lot of guys that came now are a little bit older, but then, as well, we've got the young guys like Prince Nkabinde, and Ethan Wentzel, Pierre Uys and the likes of, and they’ve also been putting their hands up.

“The older guys need to pitch up as well, and it will be interesting. I think in some positions at the moment there is good competition within the squad and it brings a different type of attitude.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do in the Currie Cup and he's definitely going to get an opportunity somewhere. So I'm really excited to see what he's going to do.“

Regarding their opponents in the opening round, the Griffons, Steyn said their shock defeat to the team from Welkom is in the past and for when it’s important to focus on what lies ahead and their own standards.

“It’s more about focusing on us and I don't even think we should go down that route. We've got standards that we want to achieve and key areas that we want to do well in, and I think it's a process that we need to keep on driving.”

Next week Saturday the Cheetahs will start their campaign against the Griffons in Bloemfontein.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport