Hammett wary of crafty Cheetahs
Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett has warned that although the Cheetahs may not have started the season with a bang, they are a crafty team who have shown refreshing adaptability and cannot be written off.
The Bloemfontein side may only have been able to beat the Rebels so far this season, but Hammett has seen enough from Naka Drotske's charges to suggest that they will pose a serious threat to his team who are still riding high after their victory over the Blues at Eden Park last week.
He told Fairfax media: "Anyone who knows anything about rugby will know the Cheetahs are a very, very well coached team and they don't bring the traditional African game."
The Hurricanes coach said that preparing to face the Cheetahs is a particularly tough challenge as they have already shown impressive versatility this season, and pointed out that they often manage to compete with teams who are widely expected to blow them away.
He explained: "I'd expect them to look at us and play to our weaknesses. What I've seen from them so far is a real variation in their game. I've seen them drive line-outs one week, then other weeks where they throw everything off the top.
"I've seen them run a blitz defence, then other times they are more of a staggered defence. What that shows me is they are very well prepared. You can see from the results, I think they've only had one game where the score has blown out a wee bit. We aren't underestimating them at all," added Hammett.
The Hurricanes have been one of the early success stories this season, coming back from a tough tour of South Africa to move up to sixth position on the log with some stirring performances, and Hammett said that their own ability to adapt their game has been central to their suprisingly strong start.
He said: "For us the reason we can play quite a few different styles is because of the amount of time we've spent training for that. We don't look for the easy option, we look for the option that's going to win us a game on the weekend.
"I imagine all the top teams can do that. It's certainly something we want to do. To have a strategy where we go out to win a game rather than going out saying, 'that's our strength'... it doesn't matter if it's carrying the ball, kicking, whatever, your system has to be wide and varied," explained the Hurricanes mentor.
One area where the Hurricanes have had the upper hand on some of their opponents this season has been with their fitness. They have finished strong in most of their games and boast one of the shortest injury lists in the competition, and in order to maintain that form Hammett appears set to rotate some of his stalwarts who are starting to grow weary.
With flanks Karl Lowe and Brad Shields ready for action and lock James Broadhurst also eagerly awaiting an opportunity the Hurricanes boss may use the clash with the Cheetahs to give players such as Jack Lam, Faifili Levave, Jason Eaton and Jeremy Thrush a rest.
He said: "I don't want to get into the situation of going OK now, and then eight, nine, 10 weeks down the track we burn out. It's bloody difficult but I know for us this week, around selections, I will be making changes.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure where, but it's got nothing to do with disrespecting the next opposition. We have a long competition and we just have to do it. Down the track if we want to keep pushing on and getting improvement in our game we need to use our whole squad."