PRO14 kick-off – Round 1 Preview

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   SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, has labelled the Guinness PRO14 as “one of the toughest I have ever coached in” on the eve of the start of the 2019/20 Championship, which kicks off on Friday in Bloemfontein.

Erasmus may be guiding his Bok side at the Rugby World Cup in Japan currently, but he will have one eye on the Guinness PRO14 as it kicks off this weekend with two local games in South Africa and much expectation for the Toyota Cheetahs and the Isuzu Southern Kings.

The Toyota Cheetahs’ first match is a visit to Bloemfontein by last year’s runners-up, the Glasgow Warriors from Scotland (kick-off at 19h05), while the Isuzu Southern Kings host the Cardiff Blues in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (kick-off at 16h00).

The men from Bloemfontein have not yet beaten the Warriors since they joined the competition, with the Glaswegians winning all four previous clashes between the sides. Ditto for the Isuzu Southern Kings, who have lost both their previous encounters against the Blues.

Erasmus knows the challenges of the Guinness PRO14 well – he was in charge of Munster in the 2016/17 season, where he led the Irish side to a final appearance after topping the group with 19 victories in the regular season.

“One thing that people underestimate about Guinness PRO14 rugby is that it is one of the toughest competitions, certainly one of the toughest that I have coached in,” Erasmus said.

“It compares on all levels to Vodacom Super Rugby because it is physical, it is tactical, and you are faced with different styles every weekend. You have to contend with different travel times, different weather and different pitches – sometimes even 4G pitches.”

“So it is such an adaptation and you have to analyse every single week. It is not like Super Rugby where you come up against teams that generally play a similar style of rugby.”

Erasmus said the competition is a challenge for coaches because of the contrasting styles and cultures from the different nations.

“It is not always a high-pace X-factor thing, it is sometimes a Glasgow ball-in-hand style, then Ulster are very different, and Leinster are very different in another way. You have to do a lot of analysis and it is interesting and challenging.

“And that’s where players really grow and take ownership of the game. Which eventually makes them better players.”

The teams for this weekend’s matches will be named at a later stage.

Match Information:

Toyota Cheetahs v Glasgow Warriors
Date: Friday, 27 September
SA time: 19h05
Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Dan Jones
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Griffin Colby
TMO: Lourens van der Merwe
TV: SS1

Isuzu Southern Kings v Cardiff Blues
Date: Saturday, 28 September
SA time: 16h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Mike Adamson
Assistant referees: Divan Uys, Paul Mente
TMO: Christie du Preez
TV: SS1

Other Round 1 matches (SA kick-off times):

Friday, 27 September:
20h35: Ulster v Ospreys – Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Saturday, 28 September:
16h00: Munster v Dragons – Thomond Park, Limerick
18h15: Scarlets v Connacht – Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
18h15: Benetton v Leinster – Stadio Monigo, Treviso
20h35: Edinburgh v Zebre – BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh

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Transvaal Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 30-Mar-2016 Status: Online Points: 40235	Post Options Post Reply Quote Transvaal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: PRO14 kick-off – Round 1 Preview Posted: 26-Sep-2019 at 4:49pm
	SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, has labelled the Guinness PRO14 as “one of the toughest I have ever coached in” on the eve of the start of the 2019/20 Championship, which kicks off on Friday in Bloemfontein. Erasmus may be guiding his Bok side at the Rugby World Cup in Japan currently, but he will have one eye on the Guinness PRO14 as it kicks off this weekend with two local games in South Africa and much expectation for the Toyota Cheetahs and the Isuzu Southern Kings. The Toyota Cheetahs’ first match is a visit to Bloemfontein by last year’s runners-up, the Glasgow Warriors from Scotland (kick-off at 19h05), while the Isuzu Southern Kings host the Cardiff Blues in Port Elizabeth on Saturday (kick-off at 16h00). The men from Bloemfontein have not yet beaten the Warriors since they joined the competition, with the Glaswegians winning all four previous clashes between the sides. Ditto for the Isuzu Southern Kings, who have lost both their previous encounters against the Blues. Erasmus knows the challenges of the Guinness PRO14 well – he was in charge of Munster in the 2016/17 season, where he led the Irish side to a final appearance after topping the group with 19 victories in the regular season. “One thing that people underestimate about Guinness PRO14 rugby is that it is one of the toughest competitions, certainly one of the toughest that I have coached in,” Erasmus said. “It compares on all levels to Vodacom Super Rugby because it is physical, it is tactical, and you are faced with different styles every weekend. You have to contend with different travel times, different weather and different pitches – sometimes even 4G pitches.” “So it is such an adaptation and you have to analyse every single week. It is not like Super Rugby where you come up against teams that generally play a similar style of rugby.” Erasmus said the competition is a challenge for coaches because of the contrasting styles and cultures from the different nations. “It is not always a high-pace X-factor thing, it is sometimes a Glasgow ball-in-hand style, then Ulster are very different, and Leinster are very different in another way. You have to do a lot of analysis and it is interesting and challenging. “And that’s where players really grow and take ownership of the game. Which eventually makes them better players.” The teams for this weekend’s matches will be named at a later stage. Match Information: Toyota Cheetahs v Glasgow Warriors Date: Friday, 27 September SA time: 19h05 Venue: Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein Referee: Dan Jones Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Griffin Colby TMO: Lourens van der Merwe TV: SS1 Isuzu Southern Kings v Cardiff Blues Date: Saturday, 28 September SA time: 16h00 Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Referee: Mike Adamson Assistant referees: Divan Uys, Paul Mente TMO: Christie du Preez TV: SS1 Other Round 1 matches (SA kick-off times): Friday, 27 September: 20h35: Ulster v Ospreys – Kingspan Stadium, Belfast Saturday, 28 September: 16h00: Munster v Dragons – Thomond Park, Limerick 18h15: Scarlets v Connacht – Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli 18h15: Benetton v Leinster – Stadio Monigo, Treviso 20h35: Edinburgh v Zebre – BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Transvaal Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 30-Mar-2016 Status: Online Points: 40235	Post Options Post Reply Quote Transvaal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26-Sep-2019 at 4:51pm
	Toyota Cheetahs face Glasgow Warriors in Guinness PRO14 opening match The nineteenth season of Guinness PRO14 rugby begins in Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein where the recently crowned Currie Cup champions, Toyota Cheetahs welcomes last season’s beaten finalists and 2015 champions, Glasgow Warriors. The action kicks off at 19:05 (SA time) with a live broadcast on SuperSport, Premier Sports, eir Sport and DAZN. Gates open at 15:30 with a curtain raiser between Free State Amateur and Lesotho at 16:30. The Toyota Cheetahs won their last two games of the 2018/19 campaign beating Dragons and Isuzu Southern Kings at Toyota Stadium and their only defeat in their last five home games was to Ospreys in round 19 last seasons. Friday will mark the first opening game at home and the home field advantage might give the team a boost. Glasgow Warriors were last year’s losing finalist in the Guinness PRO14 whist their most recent defeat in the regular season came in round 13 against Benetton Rugby. The opponent’s only defeat in round 1 since 2012 was at home to Scarlets in 2015. The two sides have met on four previous occasions in Guinness PRO14 with the visitors victorious in each instance. Both teams like to play expansive rugby. “We’ve done well in Currie Cup and enjoyed the moment but the mentality among the players is that we still have to keep working hard. Glasgow Warriors is very task driven. We have to keep the momentum and we will be well prepared for this competition. We are not underestimating what is coming.” Said interim coach Franco Smith. “The good thing is that we start at home. Very tough opposition will be coming for us in the next three weeks and we have to be up for the challenge. I believe, and have all the confidence in the team, that we can bring home the victories and put up the log points. The attitude in the team is to stick together and keep working hard for the player next to you.” Said the Club Captain, Tian Meyer. The Toyota Cheetahs will be moving into a new direction with regards to captaincy. Continuing from the Currie Cup campaign, the leader of the players, on and off the field is Tian Meyer. In order to manage the player’s game time, there will also be an on-field captain, who can change from time to time. The on-field captain for the game against Glasgow Warriors will be Ruan Pienaar. The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: Justin Basson (knee), Ali Mgijima (Achilles), Marnus van der Merwe (foot), Charles Marais (bicep) and Clayton Blommetjies (ankle). Rugby World Cup – Ruben de Haas (USA), Aranos Coetzee (Namibia). SA Sevens – Darren Adonis. Toyota Cheetahs 15 Rhyno Smith 14 William Small-Smith 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg 12 Dries Swanepoel 11 Anthony Volmink 10 Tian Schoeman 9 Ruan Pienaar (C) 1 Ox Nche 2 Joseph Dweba 3 Erich de Jager 4 Sintu Manjezi 5 Walt Steenkamp 6 Gerhard Olivier 7 Junior Pokomela 8 Henco Venter 16 Reinach Venter 17 Boan Venter 18 Luan de Bruin 19 JP du Preez 20 Sias Koen 21 Jasper Wiese 22 Tian Meyer 23 Louis Fouche The referee for the match is Dan Jones (WRU, 25th competition game). He will be assisted by Ben Crause and Griffon Colby (both SARU). The TMO is Lourens van der Merwe (SARU).