04/05/2008 22:02

Pieter Jordaan

Bloemfontein - The Cheetahs are going to Durban to beat the Sharks in their Super 14 rugby match this weekend, says coach Naka Drotské.

To play last year's finalists on their own turf is a tough assignment. And no one knows it better than Naka Drotské.

"But," says the Cheetahs coach, "we know by now that any team in this competition can beat any other team."

"The Sharks have a good defence system. In Durban they are especially tough but we're going there to win."

The Sharks, back from their exhausting tour of Australasia, must beat the Cheetahs to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the playoff stage. Therefore, they won't lack motivation.

The Cheetahs recently failed to do the Sharks and the Stormers a favour by beating the Hurricanes in Kimberley. And in Bloemfontein last Friday night, they did themselves no favours by losing 31-28 to the Highlanders.

Now they face the 2007 runners-up in Durban, where they are not expected to produce a major upset.

The Sharks are sixth on the points table and the Cheetahs are down in 13th position. But there are other notable statistics to take into account.

Have conceded 44 tries

The Cheetahs, second last on the log, have scored 29 tries this season, more than any other SA team. And of all the SA franchises only the Lions have scored fewer tries than the Sharks. The Lions, who are last on the log, stand at 18 and the Sharks at 20.

However, the main difference is in defence, where the Sharks, the Stormers and the Waratahs have conceded 18 tries each. Only the log-leading Crusaders have a better defence record. They have conceded a mere 14 tries.

The Cheetahs, on the other hand, have conceded 44 tries.

"The Sharks have a good defence system," Drotské acknowledged at the weekend. "In Durban they are particularly tough."

After the match against the Highlanders, Drotské again lamented his team's habit of giving away soft tries at critical moments.

The defeat means the Cheetahs have lost all five their matches against New Zealand sides this season.

However, Drotské does not believe the New Zealanders have something special to which the Cheetahs have no answer.

"We did well against the Highlanders and the Chiefs. Against the Crusaders we rested eight or nine of our top players and against the Blues we were simply outplayed," the coach said.