A list of things to do in Bloemfontein has never been compiled, probably because nobody could grow that list past the obvious "attractions", such as the settlers monument or the museum of farming implements.
One could visit Hansie Cronje's old school, if hard pressed, and the botanical gardens are quite
nice.
So little wonder then that the good volk of Bloemfontein are happily queuing around the block to have their picture taken with the Currie Cup, which has been residing in state at the Free State Stadium since the Cheetahs pulled off one of the great shocks in the history of the competition and stole it from the Bulls in Pretoria last October.
Winning the Currie Cup is the best thing that has happened to this overgrown farming town since, well, the last time they won the Currie Cup, back in 1976, the year Andy Leslie's All Blacks were in town.
The 2005 victory over the Bulls was the culmination of almost a decade of consistently good domestic form for the Cheetahs and was confirmation that the South African Rugby Union had got at least one thing right last year by splitting the unholy Super 12 alliance that was the Cats franchise and giving Free State richly deserved autonomy.
Over the past five years, an unfortunate pattern developed with the teams contributing to the Cats, the Johannesburg-based Lions and the Cheetahs.
The Cheetahs would have a good Currie Cup, often finishing higher than the Lions, but when they were paired at the Cats (based in Johannesburg) for the Super 12 it was invariably a disaster. The only time the Cats excelled was when outsider Laurie Mains stopped their moaning and licked them into semifinal shape in 2000 and 2001.
So the excellent team spirit pervading the Cheetahs as they graduate into the Super 14 is as much due to their newfound independence as it is to their Currie Cup victory.
Although many of their players haven't been tested at this level before, 33-year-old Rassie Erasmus has proved to be a coaching revelation, and as a player he learned a lot about winning in Australasia under Mains and with Nick Mallett at the Boks.
Erasmus captained the Cheetahs in their 2004 Currie Cup final defeat to the Bulls and the very next year took over as coach. His immediate success confounds the theory that a coach must do a long apprenticeship at lower levels of coaching.
"I don't agree that you have to come through a coaching system," says Erasmus. "If you retire as a player and start coaching at club level, you lose the feel for the professional game. You forget about the laws, the speed of the game and what it takes to win at that level."
Others would disagree, but it works for Erasmus and the Cheetahs. But then Erasmus has always had a reputation for doing things differently.
Current Bok coach Jake White reckons Erasmus has one of the best technical brains in the country, although where White tends to have a fairly rigid structure for the Boks, Erasmus is something of a chameleon from week to week.
"I have my own way of analysing the game," he says. "I like to change my game plan from week to week. Teams analyse each other all the time, so I like to keep them guessing. In this age where everybody is in the gym and on the same supplements, you have to find a way to get an edge, and I believe technical analysis is the answer."
A squad of good players would also come in handy, and Erasmus has done well in assembling a Super 14 squad that includes a former All Black, a Samoan and some bloody hefty farmers.
The Cheetahs are particularly strong in front row depth. Erasmus selected five props for the Currie Cup final and had the audacity to leave Bok incumbents Os du Randt and CJ van der Linde on the bench where they kept company with Ollie le Roux, the former Shark and Bok stalwart.
The props that did start, youngsters Jannie du Plessis and Wian du Preez, are considered by Erasmus to be the most powerful in the land, and when you add sturdy Samoan hooker Trevor Leota to the mix, you have possibly the best front row depth in the competition.
The Cheetahs have impressive versatility because their two first five-eighths, Willem de Waal and Meyer Bosman can kick the ball a mile and are equally adept at playing Free State's traditional running game.
Two to watch
Earl Rose- Cats, 1.81m, 74kg
The little fullback's Fred Astaire footwork and will-o-the-wisp pace have delighted Cape Town crowds since he first danced his way through defences at primary school level. The hype grew through age-group rugby when he continued to thread his skinny frame through the minutest of gaps. But now that the SA Under-21 star is ready to bloom in the senior ranks he has deserted Western Province (and the Stormers) and moved to the Cats, much to the dismay of his native province.
JP Pietersen - Sharks, 1.95m, 95kg
The lanky fullback has a loping running style reminiscent of a young Serge Blanco.Pietersen was shoved into the second row in his school days and by his own admission was a "very poor lock". But when an inspired Colts coach moved him to fullback three years ago, he m orphed into what Sharks coach Dick Muir describes as "the most exciting player I have coached in the last two years".
Cats - Free to roam on their own
* With the Free State players having been freed to form their own franchise, the Cats are now the same team that played the Currie Cup in the colours of the Lions, and coach Frans Ludeke says they will be far better off for the continuity.
* Laurie Mains conducts a brief workshop with his former team but cannot be enticed into staying.
* Springbok first-five Andre Pretorius undergoes surgery on the ankle he injured in the November test against Argentina and will be out for the first month of the Super 14.
* Like the Sharks, the Cats protest to SANZAR that it is unfair that for the second year in a row they have more away than home games, while the Bulls and Stormers once more are blessed with more home games.
* When hooker Shalk Brits defects to the Stormers he says it is not about the money but about Cape Town's superior lifestyle to Johannesburg.
* In retaliation, the Cats sign wonderfully talented fullback Earl Rose, 20, who has shown no loyalty to the Western Province union that nurtured him through the ranks.
* The Cats rely heavily on flyhalf Pretorius for inspiration and it comes as a major blow when his injury problems are compounded by a drink-driving charge.
* The forward-thinking Cats re-sign 36-year-old prop Marius Hurter in favour of SA Under 21 strong man Heinke van der Merwe, who moves to the Sharks.
* The Cats have a strange marketing strategy that portrays them as being suitably "streetwise" for a tough city like Johannesburg.
* Since 1998, the Calamity Cats finished 12th three times and 11th three times.
Stormers - Whatever it takes for a tight five
* After Western Province were well beaten in the Currie Cup semifinal by Free State, the Stormers went on a search for locks and props to bolster their fragile tight five but could find nobody - all decent players are contracted, said director of rugby Nick Mallett.
* Their tight five depth is further weakened when SA Under 21 prop Pat Barnard announces that he is immigrating to England.
* In return, the Stormers sign Irish prop Doug Wheatley.
* Like the Bulls, the Stormers have a great draw compared with the other SA teams. They have home comfort to assist them in five consecutive games against the better teams before playing the weaker teams away.
* Veteran Springbok wing Breyton Paulse calls it a day and heads for France.
* Lightning-fast wings Rayno Benjamin and Jongi Nokwe are drafted in from unfashionable Boland province. The Stormers now have great balance in their backline, with straight-running Bok midfielders in De Wet Barry, Jean de Villiers and Marius Joubert and exceptionally quick wings.
* The Stormers stave off requests from the Cats for Bok halfback Bolla Conradie and with Neil de Kock (Boks) and Paul Delport (SA Under 21) they have good depth at halfback.
* A great coup when they sign Schalk Brits, the Lions (and Cats) hooker who has better skills than most SA backs.
Earl Rose. Touchline Photo / Getty Images
A list of things to do in Bloemfontein has never been compiled, probably because nobody could grow that list past the obvious "attractions", such as the settlers monument or the museum of farming implements.
One could visit Hansie Cronje's old school, if hard pressed, and the botanical gardens are quite
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