Hendro Scholtz can count himself lucky, while Boela du Plooy is definitely unlucky.

The two Cheetahs forwards are at the centre of a rift between their union and the South African Rugby Union over disciplinary procedures even though no citings emerged from Saturday's heated semifinal between the Cheetahs and Western Province .

SA Rugby's head of legal affairs Christo Ferreira said no citings had taken place from the semifinal, in spite of two incidents warranting closer inspection.

This is likely to anger the Cheetahs, who face a tough task against the Blue Bulls on Saturday.

Scholtz had been expected to be cited for 'mountaineering'

Scholtz had been expected to be cited for “mountaineering” on a Province player in full view of referee Tappe Henning.

While Henning gave a yellow card, there could well have been an argument for a red card as the stomping was close to the opponent's head.

Du Plooy's jaw was broken in two places, allegedly by Province lock Ross Skeate, meaning the Cheetah will be out for at least six weeks.

According to reports from the Free State, it lead to legal proceedings as Du Plooy was due to leave for Stade Francais at the end of the Currie Cup.

Both incidents have shown the disparities of a citing system which has little consistency.

'Boela is a physical presence'

Bok winger Breyton Paulse was given a three-week ban for what was an incidental flick of the foot while Cheetahs prop Ollie le Roux received four weeks for a blatant punch off the ball on Johan Wassermann and another yellow card.

Adriaan Strauss, the young Blue Bulls hooker was red-carded earlier this season for trampling an opponent while the Bulls were on the march to the line in a maul and though it was unintentional, the card cost the Bulls the game.

The Cheetahs will be thankful they have Scholtz available for the final as he could easily have picked up a suspension, but they will miss the toughness and physicality of Du Plooy in the lineouts, which are set to be a battleground.

The Cheetahs struggled last time out in Bloemfontein with Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha reigning supreme over them in the setpieces, so much so that it bordered on the ridiculous at times.

Blue Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer said that the Cheetahs would certainly miss Du Plooy, but added that Corniel van Zyl was a worthy replacement.

The Bulls will be aiming to disrupt the Cheetahs lineout in the same manner this weekend as in Bloemfontein.

“Boela is a physical presence, but Corniel is probably a little bit better in the lineouts, so they won't be weakened there, but they will miss the physicality of Boela,” Meyer said on Monday.

“If they try new things it will be because we look long and hard at their lineouts. There is always a chance that it will backfire because they haven't had enough time to practice it. We will be concentrating on their lineouts, but that will only be one aspect of their play on the day in a game that will be difficult for both sides.”

• This article was originally published on page 24 of Pretoria News on October 18, 2005