Reds fear the Brüssow factor
The Reds have listed Springbok outcast Heinrich Brüssow as the biggest threat to their prospects of turning around their season.
The Cheetahs host the bottom-placed Reds in a Round 10 Super Rugby encounter in Bloemfontein on Saturday - with the two sides having had contrasting fortunes in recent weeks.
The Cheetahs managed to end a frustrating Australasian tour with an impressive win over the Western Force last week.
The Reds, on a six-match losing streak, played entertaining rugby at times last week, but still came away with a 22-43 loss to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
The Cheetahs have backs like Sarel Pretorius, Cornal Hendricks and Raymond Rhule who are very dangerous in an expansive game with lots of open space.
However, it is Brüssow that could have the biggest influence on the outcome of the game, according to Reds No.8 Adam Thomson.
Brüssow, who played the last of his 20 Tests in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal loss to Australia, hasn't had a look-in with the Boks since Heyneke Meyer has taken charge of the national team.
Apart from the occasional appearance in a wider Bok training squad, he has not come close to selection for a Test.
"He is world class," Thomson said, when asked about Brüssow in Saturday's showdown in Bloemfontein.
"He has done a lot in the game.
"I have come up against him a number of times and he is always a real handful.
"He is really strong on the ball, he carries very well and he is a constant nuisance."
The All Black loose forward, who joined the reds this year after a stint in Japan, said the Cheetahs' other danger is their expansive game.
"They have a nice attacking style," he said, adding: "They like to play with the footy [ball] and they back themselves.
"They are pretty unorthodox, they use chip-kicks and they back themselves with their offloads."
The other good news for the Cheetahs this week was that coach Naka Drotské had been given a stay of execution after the team's win over the Force last week.
In what has been described as an "open and constructive" discussion between Drotské and the Cheetahs' board of directors, they said in a statement that they remain positive that the 12th-placed Cheetahs can still turn their season around make the Super Rugby play-offs.
Aspects such as gameplan, team selection, withdrawals, injuries and the team's tour schedule were discussed at length.
They believe that the win against the Force is the start of a prosperous period for the Cheetahs - which will continue with a win over the reds - to be followed by an away game against the Lions and a home run of three games - Stormers, Highlanders and Lions - before they finish off their season with games against the Stormers (Cape Town), Waratahs (Bloemfontein) and Bulls (Pretoria).
"The win against the Force was very important to our campaign," Drotské said.
"You can see in training what that meant to the players. They are working with more intensity and are looking forward to the rest of the season.
"It is very important that we remain positive," Drotské added.
"We placed a lot of pressure on ourselves [with a strong of defeats before and during the tour], so it is important that we win on Saturday to maintain the momentum [created by the victory against the Force].
"If we play to our potential and we stick to our structure, we can continue winning.
"It is all within our hands."
A number of key players are also set to return from injury soon - Elgar Watts (knee, two weeks to his return), Willem Serfontein (knee, next week), Jean Cook (groin, two weeks) and Jonathan Adendorf (groin, two weeks).
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com