Cheetahs in pole position to lead pack

The Cheetahs won a record sixth Super 15 match in a single season when they toppled the Sharks 12-6 at Kings Park on Saturday and now find themselves in pole position to top the SA conference.

This weekend the Bloemfontein side face the Southern Kings at home - a match where they will be targeting victory with a bonus point - and they still have an additional eight guaranteed points with two byes to come.

They could hardly find themselves in better shape after nine matches, both in terms of the standings - where they occupy second place in the South African conference behind the Bulls with 27 points - and on the injury front.

Coach Naka Drotske is confident that lock Waltie Vermeulen and flyhalves Riaan Smit and Elgar Watts will all be in contention for selection for the Kings match next week.

Prop Trevor Nyakane and scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius might both require another week to recover from a hip-pointer and hamstring injuries respectively, but should be back in action after their bye.

The away victory over the Sharks was a massive statement from the Cheetahs, indicating that their good form, which saw them win five matches in succession between weeks three and eight, was not a fluke but a sign of their realistic play-off credentials.

Although the Bulls ended the Cheetahs' winning streak last week with a 26-20 victory at Loftus, Drotske knew that his team would be well poised if they could earn a result against the Sharks.

''After winning those five matches we knew that if we want to top the South Africa conference, we needed to win at least one match against either the Bulls or the Sharks," Drotske said.

"We've done that and it's a good position to be in at the moment. But we're not getting ahead of ourselves and understand that there is still a long way to go in the competition."

But with two byes, two games against the Kings, return matches against the Bulls (home) and Stormers (away), and home clashes against the Hurricanes and Reds to come, the Cheetahs for once have their destiny in their own hands.

If they keep winning they should top the conference.

It's simple in theory, but obviously more difficult in reality.

One of the keys to the Cheetahs success this year has been their improved defence. Springbok defence coach John McFarland has spent time in Bloemfontein where his input and implementation of a new system has turned them into a side that is now difficult to beat.

"We changed the system by focusing on pushing attackers out, improving our work rate on defence and getting up off the deck quickly to prepare for the next phase," said captain Adriaan Strauss.