By CHRIS RATTUE
Triumphant Cats coach Laurie Mains said his side would be far better prepared for their semifinal clash against the Brumbies than on their last, disastrous, trip to Canberra.
The Cats overpowered the Chiefs 53-3 in Bloemfontein yesterday, their fifth consecutive win, to make their debut in the semifinals in Mains' first season as a Super 12 coach.
But Chiefs captain Glenn Taylor predicted from South Africa last night that the Brumbies would win the semifinal.
The Cats were crushed 0-64 at Bruce Stadium in early April, and have never won outside of South Africa.
Mains has already decreed his side will stay in Sydney during the build-up to Saturday night's match.
He told the Herald last night that the Canberra hotel used for the Super 12 did not have a good atmosphere for rugby teams.
But the wily former All Black coach may also be want to remove his team from the spotlight in Canberra.
The Cats left South Africa early today on the 18-hour journey, and will only begin training in Sydney tomorrow.
"Given that the Brumbies had a Friday-night game and we played on Saturday, I would have preferred a Sunday semifinal," Mains said.
"It is a disadvantage but that is this competition. If we had been good enough for the top two then someone would have had to travel to us.
"I thought we had slipped too far behind early in the season, but we are a much different side from the one which lost in Canberra.
"We were travel-weary then, at the end of a four-match tour, and had just lost two games in New Zealand we should have won. The guys were thinking about going home.
"This is a really enjoyable moment in coaching - I love taking struggling teams and knocking them together, teaching them how to play rugby. But the job isn't done yet."
The Cats needed a four-try bonus point win to pip the Stormers for fourth spot and did it in style, taking a 20-3 halftime lead then dominating possession with their big forwards in the second spell.
Loose forwards Johan Erasmus and Andre Venter were again the Cats' stars, with Venter galloping away for a 65-metre try which helped break the Chiefs early on.
But their ball-handling was not always Brumbies-class, and Erasmus said: "We made a lot of mistakes - we've got a lot to work on."
Taylor said his side had prepared well knowing they might help another New Zealand team to make the semifinals.
"The Cats were firing and they've got a huge pack - it was difficult for us to get the ball," he said.
"The Brumbies are the best side we've played. They're very innovative.
"They will be well prepared for the Cats and I think they'll be too good. It will be really tough for the Cats having to travel."
Cats 53 Chiefs 3
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