The Force's record against the Cheetahs might surprise some Super Rugby fans as the Force have only ever lost once to the Cheetahs.

The Cheetahs and the Force were added to Super Rugby in 2006 with the expansion from a Super 12 to a Super 14 so they have only played each other five times.

As the Force have only lost one match to the Cheetahs they have won four matches or 80% of their matches against the men from Bloemfontein.

When the Cheetahs play the Force on average they score 17 points and the Cheetahs score 21 points.

When they play each other in Bloemfontein or Kimberley the Cheetahs on average score 19 points and the Force score 15 points.

They have played each other three times in South Africa and the Cheetahs have lost two and won 1 - or you could say the Cheetahs have only won 33.3% of their matches in South Africa against the Force.

The Cheetahs got their first Super Rugby victory over the Cheetahs in 2010 in Bloemfontein and this was the last time they played as they missed each other in last year's draw.

The Cheetahs have been one of the surprise teams in 2012 as they won their first ever match in New Zealand and had their most successful tour yet.

However in recent weeks their defence has been slipping. They fell apart last week against the Highlanders and the week before that they allowed the Chiefs to score five tries in a 33-39 loss at home.

Strangely the Cheetahs have lost both of their last two matches with a losing score of 33. The Force have only scored thirty three points or more once this year.

The Force are something of a mystery currently as they lost their coach a couple of weeks ago and then last week they thought they were getting Will Genia but then he changed his mind.

On the field they have showed promise at times but on the whole they have been missing that spark. At the time of writing the Force had not named their team for the match.

The Cheetahs lost Johan Goosen last week which is a big blow. This loss does however allow Sias Ebersohn to show what he can do and last year he formed a great partnership with Sarel Pretorius. The question is can he do it again?

The Bookies have given the Force a 9 point start for this match - with an offer of Bet 5 and Get 50 in Bets. We think the bookies prediction is spot on. The Cheetahs should win by 9.

This match will be shown on TV in NZ, Aus, SA and in the UK on the Sky Sports website.

Average score: Cheetahs 17 Force 21

Last five results
08 May 2010 Cheetahs v Force 29-14 Bloemfontein
20 Feb 2009 Cheetahs v Force 10-16 Perth
22 Feb 2008 Cheetahs v Force 15-16 Bloemfontein
27 Apr 2007 Cheetahs v Force 17-45 Perth
06 May 2006 Cheetahs v Force 14-16 Kimberley

Cheetahs overall record against the Force
Played 5 , Wins 1, Losses 4 , Draws 0

Match No 72: Cheetahs v Force,
Date Saturday 5 May
Venue : Bloemfontein
Kick Off : 19:10 SAST, 05:10 NZT, 03:10 AEST
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant Ref 1:Craig Joubert
Assistant Ref 2:Stefan Breytenbach
TMO:Gerrie Coetzee

Teams

Cheetahs:

Hennie Daniller, Cameron Jacobs, Robert Ebersohn, Andries Strauss, Willie le Roux, Sias Ebersohn, Tewis de Bruyn, Philip van der Walt, Justin Downey, Heinrich Brussow, Izak van der Westhuizen, George Earle, WP Nel, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Coenie Oosthuizen.

Replacements: Hercu Liebenberg, Trevor Nyakane, Andries Ferreira, Ashley Johnson, Piet van Zyl, Riaan Smit, Philip Snyman.

Force

1 Pek Cowan 2 Nathan Charles 3 Salesi Ma 'afu 4 Toby Lynn 5 Nathan Sharpe 6 Richard Brown 7 David Pocock (Captain) 8 Matt Hodgson 9 Brett Sheehan 10 David Harvey 11 Napolioni Nalaga 12 Winston Stanley 13 Nick Cummins 14 Sam Wara 15 Alfie Mafi

Reserves: 16 Elvis Taione 17 Salesi Manu 18 Phoenix Battye 19 Lachlan McCaffrey 20 Josh Holmes 21 Ben Seymour 22 Rory Sidey