S18 PREVIEW: ROUND NINE, PART ONE
The weekend gets underway with an intriguing game between two teams desperate to get their campaigns back on track - the defending champion Highlanders hosting the Sharks.
The Highlanders only had one hiccup, a disappointing loss to the Reds, followed by a bye.
The Sharks, however, have not won in the last five weeks - a draw again the Bulls in mid-March followed by three defeats with a bye sandwiched in between.
The Sharks have been recharging in the idyllic holiday resort of Queenstown on the New Zealand South Island this week, with coach Gary Gold having had lots of "one-on-one interviews" with players.
The coach said they are "bitterly disappointed" with their results of recent weeks, but remain confident of winning at one of the toughest venues in the competition.
The other Friday match also involves a travelling South African side - the Rebels hosting the Cheetahs a week after the men from Bloemfontein put a record score past the Sunwolves.
We look at the Friday, April 22, matches below!
The headlined in Dunedin this week were all about a new coach for the Highlanders.
Barely a word about the team, other than the news that co-captain Ben Smith has recovered from concussion and has returned at fullback for the Highlanders' Super Rugby match against the Sharks.
And if the players - who were still dealing with the disappointment of ending their five-match victory run with a loss to the Reds a fortnight ago - had hoped for a timely 'pick-me-up', there was further bad news.
Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree had become the latest to say 'no thanks' to an offer to coach the Highlanders next year - with current coach Jamie Joseph set to depart at the end of the season to become coach of Japan's national team.
Former Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper, Greg Cooper and Dave Hewett have since had their names thrown into the media speculation hat.
Joseph is certainly going to have his hands full getting the players to focus on the match and not get distracted by the sideshows.
Not that the Sharks have had it any easier.
At least the visitors' problems are related to their on-field form - or rather lack of it - as the Sharks hope to avoid last year's six-match losing streak that saw them slump to 11th on the table.
Currently 10th, they have a draw and three defeats in their last four outings - including last week's bitterly disappointing 18-23 loss to the Blues - after leading 18-10 early in the second half.
Gary Gold, the Sharks Director of Rugby, this spoke of the need to sort out their line-outs - where the Sharks lost possession at critical stages in the game against the Blues.
"It is important for us to look after the ball and cut out the elementary errors," Gold said in a teleconference from the team's training base in Queenstown.
"A lot of our attention [in training this week] has been on ball retention and being able to build phases.
"You do want to have an effective defence, but when you do have the ball you must make it count."
Gold said his team has not been "jealous enough" with the possession.
"That [retaining possession] is important, because if you play a team of the Highlanders' caliber - and you turn over ball like we did - they will hurt you.
"Our decision-making is going to be critical if we do see the ball.
"Our intent is to move the ball and play exciting rugby, but we need to win the ball and look after it."
Recent results:
2015: Highlanders won 48-15, Dunedin
2014: Sharks won 31-27, Durban (preliminary play-off match)
2014: Highlanders won 34-18, Durban
2013: Highlanders won 25-22, Dunedin
2012: Sharks won 28-16, Durban
2010: Sharks won 30-16, Dunedin
Prediction: The Highlanders have won their last three regular season matches against the Sharks, though they suffered a 31-27 loss to the South African team in the 2014 preliminary play-off match. The Highlanders have won five of their last seven matches against teams from South Africa; that streak has included both a win and a loss against the Sharks. The Highlanders have won their last eight matches at home, their longest streak since they won a franchise-record 13 straight home games from 2000 to 2002. The Sharks have now lost their last three matches despite trailing at the break only once in that span (leading once, level once). The Sharks have won 9.3 turnovers per match, the most of any team and 3.4 more per game than the Highlanders (5.9), who have averaged the fewest. Something is amiss in the Sharks set-up and it has come out in their games. The Highlanders will be hurting after their loss to the Reds and based of the evidence of the first half of the season the home team should win by about 15 points.
Teams:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Matt Faddes, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jason Emery, 11 Jack Wilson, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Liam Squire, 7 Shane Christie (co-captain), 6 Elliot Dixon 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Daniel Lienert-Brown.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Alex Ainley, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Hayden Parker, 23 Patrick Osborne.
Sharks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Garth April, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Tendai Mtawarira (captain).
Replacements: 16 Mahlatse Ralepelle, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Jean Deysel, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Joe Pietersen, 23 Sibusiso Sithole.
Referee: Ben O'Keefe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)
TMO: Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
It is a difficult result to ignore, despite the perilous state of the Japanese team, the Sunwolves.
And he is under no illusion nothing less than their best will be good enough, given that the Rebels themselves are coming off a 25-point loss to the Hurricanes last week.
The Rebels have been guilty of basic errors and certainly can't afford to concede the same opportunities to a Cheetahs side full of confidence.
"Super Rugby has different demands each week," McGahan said in an interview on the Rebels' website, adding: "It was the quality of the Hurricanes last week and now the Cheetahs, who are in good form.
"So we'll certainly need to be at our best this week."
The Rebels will be without star wing Dom Shipperley, after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
Along with Shipperley, Mitch Inman was also unavailable for selection with a hand injury.
The Cheetahs have been at pains to stress that complacency will not be an issue in the wake of last week's record victory - a 14-try demolition.
Coach Franco Smith said it wasn't difficult to get the players back down to earth.
"We have to keep on concentrating on our processes, so the scoreline didn't make too much of a difference to us," Smith said, adding that they are well aware of the threats posed by a Rebels team that already has the scalps of teams like Waratahs, Reds and Force to their credit.
"I have no doubt they will use the win as a confidence booster and not to pick up any sort of arrogance."
Previous results:
2014: Rebels won 35-14, Melbourne
2013: Cheetahs won 34-16, Bloemfontein
2012: Cheetahs won 33-26, Melbourne
2011: Cheetahs won 41-21, Bloemfontein
Prediction: These teams have faced each other four times in Super Rugby history and while the Cheetahs have won three of them it was the Rebels who were victorious in their most recent encounter in 2014. While the Rebels have won four of their last seven matches, only one of those wins has been on home ground. The Cheetahs come into this match after scoring 92 points against the Sunwolves, the equal most points ever by a South African team in Super Rugby. The Cheetahs have won 13.3 line-outs per game on average so far this campaign, equal with the Reds for the most by a team this season. Sean McMahon has beaten 30 defenders so far this season, the most of any forward. The Cheetahs won't find the going as easy as last week, but they performed far better against quality opposition than the Rebels. Their only loss where the margin was more than 10 points was against the Lions (22-39), while the Rebels suffered significantly bigger defeats against the Hurricanes (13-38), Highlanders (3-27) and Bulls (25-45). The Cheetahs should sneak a close win - by about eight points.
Teams:
Rebels: 15 Jonah Placid, 14 Cam Crawford, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Tamati Ellison, 11 Sefa Naivalu, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Nic Stirzaker (captain), 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Sean McMahon, 6 Jordy Reid, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 James Hanson, 1 Toby Smith.
Replacements: 16 Pat Leafa, 17 Cruze Ah Nau, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Colby Fainga'a, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Kotaro Matsushima, 23 Sione Tuipulotu.
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Francois Venter (captain), 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Neil Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Hilton Lobberts, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Teboho Mohoje, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
Compiled by Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
* Statistical information provided by Opta Sports