After a week off for good behaviour, the Reds begin their African safari with a trip to Bloem to face the injury ravaged Cheetahs where a win would confirm their growing reputation as a genuine finals contender.
Not only do the Reds have wins on their minds, but tries also. The team is taking part in an Oxfam charity drive that will see them donate a goat for every try they score and a “bonus goat” should the team earn a four try bonus point.
This cause will no doubt be helped by the fact the Cheetahs missing key players and despite a few wins, are not what you would call top line opposition.
The Reds are basically unchanged from the side which embarrassed the Force at their last start however Daniel Braid has failed to come up after a knee injury with Jake Schatz taking his place and Ezra Taylor coming onto the bench.
Braid will be a sizeable loss for the Reds as he has been one of their more influential players and a real leader in a team that is long on precocious talent, but short on seasoned professionals.
I must admit I haven’t seen the Cheetahs play a game this season with my beauty sleep taking preference; however from the footage I have seen, there doesn’t seem to be too much different to their play from previous years.
The Reds would no doubt be hoping the Cheetahs adopt a similar game plan to last week when they turned back the clock to last season and kicked the ball a mind numbing 42 occasions.
What the Reds have shown this year is an ability to adapt to different styles of play and also score tries consistently. They have scored 18 tries so far which ranks them fifth and have combined this with a miserly defence which has conceded only 12 tries, again the fifth best in the competition and the best of the Australian teams.
The bye can do funny things to teams and generally teams who are playing well like to keep playing so as not break the momentum, however I think the bye came at just the right time for the Reds.
The afterglow of the last outings record win will have well and truly faded, and the team will have had a chance to re-focus and prepare for a three week putsch that could set them up for the finals if all goes to plan.
I don’t think this game will be a ‘goat-fest’ for the Reds as they enter an entirely different stage of the competition. The Cheetahs are the first Saffer team they have come across and it will be interesting to see if Link has given the team any new tactics to employ.
Cote says – fire up the coffees for a 3 am start, Reds by a converted goat.
