Cheetahs vs Griquas Preview & Tips - Cheetahs tipped to keep playoff hopes alive

Cheetahs lead 4-1 in their last five matches against Griquas. Earlier this season Griquas beat the Cheetahs 31-10 in Kimberley but the Cheetahs were missing 13 first team players due to a COVID outbreak.

The Cheetahs are still bottom of the Currie Cup table but somehow still have a fairly decent chance of making the playoffs. They will have to win this match against their local rivals though.

Over recent weeks the Cheetahs have let themselves down, especially defensively. After beating the Pumas 17-16 and Western Province 38-21 in mid-July, the Bloemfontein-based outfit have not managed another win.

The Cheetahs lost 47-30 to the Sharks, 40-39 to Western Province and drew 44-44 against the Lions. In their last match they went down 38-31 to the Sharks after being forced to play more than half an hour with 14 men.

Hawies Fourie will fancy his chances in this match particularly after resting players against the Sharks. Captain and scrumhalf, Ruan Pienaar will be back while Junior Pokomela is a certain starter at flank.

Flank Jacques Potgieter will miss the match after being red carded in the last match.

Griquas are fourth on the Currie Cup table but just five points clear of the Cheetahs at the bottom. They were looking at finishing in the top two at one point but have fallen away with two defeats in their last two matches.

Due to COVID-19 this Currie Cup season has been played in a far shorter time period with mid-week matches. The Griquas squad size can’t match that of the bigger unions and it might just be catching up to them.

Since beating the Sharks at the end of July, Griquas have lost 45-42 to the Lions and 56-33 to the Bulls.  In the second week of the season Griquas did a Cheetahs side missing 13 players due to COVID-19.

Griquas will be at full strength for this match. They are the only side not to play this past weekend so should have had enough time to recover from any niggles.