Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske showered praise on his team for keeping their composure and keeping the Sharks at bay in the dying moments of their Super Rugby clash in Bloemfontein last night. The Cheetahs pulled off a major upset by beating the Sharks 27-20 forcing the Sharks to drop one position in the Super Rugby standings to third place and in danger of missing out on a home semi-final berth…….

Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss commended his team’s defence as the standout area where they were able to dominate and ultimately win the game……

Drotske did not want to comment much about the Sharks failure to win their last two matches saying that the disruptions with players being in the Springbok team and the fact that they had played too much rugby could be factors worthy of considering when looking at the Sharks losses…….

Sharks director of rugby Jake White says his team are still in with a chance of securing a home semi-final but they will have to beat the Stormers in their last game and hope the Highlanders beat the Crusaders as well. White though was not too pleased about the way his team started against the Cheetahs……

White commended the Cheetahs defence but was also scathing towards the referee for not allowing his team reward at the breakdowns……

White also lashed out at Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer for playing his players to the ground and not giving them a rest saying that it has contributed much to the fatigue his players are suffering at the moment. White believes that the combination of Super Rugby and Springbok matches is taking a toll on his players but said that was no excuse for their loss to the Cheetahs…..

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee said his team were prepared and ready to take on the Bulls and they also played with the intensity required to win derbies in their 16-0 win over the Bulls in their Super Rugby clash at Newlands yesterday. The victory saw the Stormers climb the log to 11th spot and third place in the South African conference but it sad news for the Bulls as the loss ruled them out of play-off contention……

Coetzee said his team are now playing with balance on attack and defence and their ability to score points while stopping the opposition from putting any points on the scoreboard must be commended…..

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke conceded that his team were nowhere in that first half against the Stormers and even though they dominated the gain line in the second half, they couldn’t convert pressure into points…Journalist: Vata Ngobeni