To quote Victor Matfield after Saturday's game  "The Cheetahs have character and is a very proud team, they're always come back and it's never over until the whistle goes after 80 minutes."  Well thanks Victor, good to know, but we lost and even though we lost, we don't want to be known as just players with character thank you very much. This is no Nobel peace prize, Green peace, feel good, warm and fuzzy, how's your mother contest  - it's Vodacom Super Rugby boys! Enough of this showing character and guts. Surely Adriaan Straus didn't say after the game, "Well done boys, almost had it, it's ok to lose as long as you showed character...."

Gone are the days that we are happy to settle for a small points deficit.
Gone are the days we are labelled as "competitive"
Gone are the days that we are walkovers and
Gone are the days that we are everyone's "second favourite team".

We've lost Waltie Vermeulen, Wilhlem Steenkamp, Izak van der Westhuizen, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Phillip van der Walt, Leon Karemaker, Frans Viljoen, Kabamba Floors, Jongi Nokwe, Philip Burger, Andries Straus - that's a total of 12 players.... So even without these first choice players the Cheetahs are having their best Super rugby campaign ever and almost had the Vodacom Bulls (with 14 players for the last 10 minutes) this past Saturday.

Remove Fourie du Preez, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha from the Vodacom Bulls, would it have been the same team?  No. I think you get my point.

Week after week the Cheetahs have punched above their weight. Look at young Robert Ebersohn to mention but one, if they find him strolling around the Vodacom Durban July they might mistake him for a jockey - but on Saturday I saw a shorter version of Sonny Bill Williams at Loftus - good on you Rob!

What I am saying, is that we need to treat the Cheetahs with the respect they deserve. They don't need your "second favourite team" support - they know what they have in themselves and their truly devoted supporters.

I believe we have the perfect fit in Toyota as the Cheetahs sponsor, it's time we start to "Lead the Way."

Net om by te las. Ek dink ons moet daai mooi weer Cheetah ondersteuners Robben eiland toew stuur. Jy kies liewer die kalfies, welpies, goue vissies of daai ouens wat met streeptruie speel as jou tweede span. Genoeg vir nou tot na die game! Doet so voort Etta, nag ou grote!

Die Staat het al genoeg van die groot manne skrik gemaak in Super Rugby dat die ouens almal met 'n bang babbelas Bloem toe gaan. Maar ongelukkig gaan Landcruisers nie die Dolce Gabanna boys terug lok Bloem toe nie. Ek dink ook nie ons het hulle nodig nie, Die tweeling, Super Sarel en Riaan en self ons eie Rasta man Johnson is goed genoeg. Dis net die bleddie beserings....as dit nie hiervoor was nie het ons 'n paar ander manne mooi op hulle neuse laat kyk. Kom ons hoop net die administrateurs kyk vir 'n slag mooi na die manne wat ons het. Dink die manne gaan soeshi maak die naweek.

Hoor Hoor! Ons laat groot spanne skrik maar moet nou leer om hulle te wen. Die naweek teen die Sharks is 'n goeie tyd om te begin. Dink net as die Cheethas hulle huidige spelers kan hou, al die beseerdes soos Juan en Heinrich terug en ons kan Ruan Pienaar en Frans Steyn terug lok Bloem toe met 'n nuwe Toyota Land Cruiser. Super 15 kan dan heel anders lyk volgende jaar!

It was a brilliant game from both teams, undeniabbly one of the beste head to heads I've seen this year.

Character may not have got the boys to the winning post last weekend, but it's that character they need to rely on to bring the same game to the Sharkies. Keep on playing like that and no team will stand in your way, the Bulls were just that bit better (luckier? LOL) on the day.

I think it's a great thing that the SA teams are starting to find form in more than just one team, even the Lions are winning away from home, doing all the favours asked of them.

With the world cup looming, it's going to make the selectors life very tough. Let's hope they pick on form and not on tried and trusted. Let's face it the tried and trusted is wearing thin and getting a bit old now.

As for this weekend in the city of roses, Bosman is not playing to form and there are a few holes in the Sharks midfield defence, I dont think Michalak will be up to speed with the pace of this years' S15. But the loosies need to and can do the work up front against the likes of Kankowski, Alberts and Daniels (all in the starting line up).

Mark Lawrence is reffing the game again this weekend, and makes this statement on his website:
"As an Optometrist by profession and a Professional referee now, I have a special relationship with the public. Monday to Friday, in the Practice, I tell them how badly they see. Saturdays, on the field, they tell me how badly I see"

Let's hope both camps can compliment him on Monday for his great vision.

Ek weet nie van julle nie maar, ek dink daar is moeilikheid vir die Bok-keurders.

Ashley Johnson het homself omtrent klaar gekies. Ek dink daar kan dalk n paar "loosies" wat gewoonlik sou saamgaan op n Boktoer die keer by die huis bly want, hoe kan jy hom nie saamvat nie!

Dan Robert Ebersohn. Morne Steyn is besig om weer op vorm te kom maar vir my geld kan hulle maar vir Ebersohn bo Lambie Wêreldbeker toe vat. Is dit nie lekker vir SA rugby om skielik "te veel" losskakels te hê nie?

Ek is seker die VS gaan n krag wees om mee rekening te hou in die Curriebeker. Natal moet ook die naweek maar ligloop. Die VS doen dalk die Bulle n groot guns deur die Natallers op hulle neuse te laat kyk. Sal dit nou nie stank vir dank wees nie...!

We're developing a winning mentality now, admittedly, the one thing we lacked in super rugby so far. Our recent Currie Cup record should be proof enough of what is possible when the boys start believing in themselves!