The Toyota Cheetahs are confident they can continue their Currie Cup title defence when they face the Pumas in Mbombela on Saturday in a must-win match for the past two champions.

The Cheetahs will welcome the hard-crafting Carl Wegner back from injury for the must-win game and he will also give a lot of grunt to their pack. The Pumas aren’t an easy team to topple in the Lowveld, but there is a sense in the camp that they have what it takes.

Ruwald van der Merwe in the Pumas 50-0 win against the Cheetahs in the SA Cup. Photo: Morgan Piek

Over the past three seasons the Cheetahs have met the Pumas in the semi-finals in 2022, the final in 2023, and now in a ‘quarter-final’ to create a bit of knockout rugby history between the two teams. This alone should add a bit of extra spice to the weekend’s fixture.

The highly experienced Wegner told OFM Sport that they have had good prep leading up to the game. “There has been a lot of history of late between the two teams, but I think that they boys have prepared well this week,” said the former Junior Springbok.

‘The atmosphere is positive’

“The vibe is good in the group and the atmosphere is positive. The boys are positive and have adopted a quarter-finals mentality and that should give us an edge on the weekend. We just have to be positive about how we approach the game.”

Wegner added that on personal level after missing a few games through injury he is just excited to get out on the park and play his part.

“I’m very excited and looking forward to it. I’ve had an injury the past two weeks, but I’m back and cannot wait to be back on the field. With the positive attitude and vibe in the camp, I think the mentality is right and I'm just excited to be a part of that.”

The Cheetahs lineout has been a bit of a talking point this season as they have missed quite a few throughout the campaign, but the seasoned second-rower is confident that they will get it right as they target a perfect game in the set piece this weekend.

“I won't say it was a big problem for us, we’ve missed a few lineouts here and there, but it’s not something massive. We’ve made small adjustments that need to be made on the weekend. We’ve worked on that in getting our timing, our jumps, and lifts right, so I think we’ll be fine on the weekend.”

Saturday’s do-or-die game at the Mbombela Stadium kicks off at 13:30.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg