The 'performance driven' Kings
The Cheetahs can do themselves a huge favour and watch a few re-runs of the Southern Kings' win over the Highlanders.
It is that version of the Port Elizabeth-based outfit that will await them at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, not the edition that shipped 72 points to the Waratahs a week before.
It was a typical Kings rendition of blood and guts that saw them bounce back from their record loss to the Tahs (10-72), to conquer the Highlander (34-27).
As an added bonus, the Kings will be fresh off a bye when the Cheetahs arrive in PE on Saturday.
Kings Director of Coaching Alan Solomons admitted there are always pros and cons to a break.
"Yes, you can lose a bit of rhythm, but it is also very good to get a break – especially after a tough tour of New Zealand and Australia like we had," Solomons told this website, when asked about last week's bye and this week's encounter with the high-flying Cheetahs.
The Kings had a practice last Friday, just so the player could "get back in the swing of things" and then on Monday properly "kick-started" their build-up to the all-South African derby.
With no play-off aspirations, the Kings will look to replicate the game that helped them upstage the Kiwi outfit earlier this month.
"Our approach is purely performance driven," Solomons told this website, adding: "Our aim is to put in another good performance.
"If you focus on the performance, then you will get the outcome [a win].
"We will be looking to reproduce the kind of performance we got against the Highlanders, after we were badly beaten by the Waratahs. The side showed a lot of character in coming back [to beat the Highlanders]."
Solomons said that when a team is in their position, with no real play-off chance, what is important is the performance they deliver.
"We felt we delivered a very good performance against the Highlanders and we got the outcome we wanted.
"This week it will again be to deliver a very good performance against the Cheetahs ."
By Jan de Koning
