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The Western Force and the Cheetahs may be out of finals contention, but Force coach John Mitchell is adamant both sides have plenty to play for tomorrow night in Bloemfontein.
Both teams go into the match after good wins, the Force having beaten the Lions in Johannesburg and the Cheetahs overcoming the Blues at home.
And the Force can stay on track to make history by putting together three victories in a row on the road for the first time in their five years of Super rugby. They finish their season against the Sharks in Durban tomorrow week.
"The intriguing thing about this match is that while we both don't have finals as an aspiration we probably have similar motivation," Mitchell said.
"We want to perform well and finish off the season well.
"Both sides are coming into this match with good form, we'll definitely be going into an environment with a great crowd, a great stadium.
"The guys are really excited by this challenge. The boys now know what it's like to build momentum and it's just a case of going on with it."
Mitchell believes the Cheetahs are a more structured side than their last opponents. "They will be a different challenge," he said.
"Defensively they are a lot more connected. They will take a lot longer to break down.
"They do play ad-lib football once the game gets broken up but it's a matter of looking after our own game, you can't worry about them too much.
"It would be naive to suggest we don't look at them and see what they have to offer but our focus has really just been on us."
Mitchell has made several changes to the side that beat the Lions 33-12 at Ellis Park, the most significant being scrum-half Justin Turner, 20, getting his first start in Super rugby.
Nic Henderson starts at loosehead prop and Nathan Charles at hooker, while Tom Hockings returns to partner his captain Nathan Sharpe in the second row.
Cameron Shepherd is back from injury on the wing and James O'Connor will start at full-back.
One change Mitchell could not make was moving Scott Staniforth into the centre from the wing to partner Ryan Cross. Staniforth flew home earlier this week after injuring his neck in the Lions game.
"Apart from Spanner (Staniforth) everything's to plan," Mitchell said.
"We actually were going to have a different combination this week with Spanner and Ryan Cross.
"We were going to give Mitch (Inman) a little bit of a rest. I'm all for managing the younger player. I think Mitch has done a superb job this year.
"There's still a lot more left in him but he's really maturing in the position and to be able to put him back in again is not an issue."
One player desperately hoping for a run is prop Matt Dunning, sitting on the reserves bench with 99 Super appearances to his name.
"We'll have to, at some stage, get him on the pitch," Mitchell said. "He'll come on at some stage. It will come down to how Timmy (Fairbrother) fatigues during the match."
- Squad: *Nic Henderson, Nathan Charles, Tim Fairbrother, Tom Hockings, Nathan Sharpe (c), Matt Hodgson, David Pocock, Richard Brown, Justin Turner, David Hill, Cameron Shepherd, Ryan Cross, Mitch Inman, Nick Cummins, James O'Connor. *Reserves: *Ben Whittaker, Matt Dunning, Sam Wykes, Ben McCalman, Chris O'Young, Sam Harris, Mark Bartholomeusz.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...driving-force/
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