THE holidays are over for the Super 14 rugby sides with all 14 teams in action this weekend.

THE holidays are over for the Super 14 rugby sides with all 14 teams in action this weekend.

With byes now a thing of the past, the last four rounds begin on Friday morning with the touring Cheetahs taking on the Chiefs in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Yet to win on the road, the Cheetahs will be buoyed by the return of captain Juan Smith after missing the last three matches following the death of his father in Bloemfontein.

There's no truer saying than "one man doesn't make a team", but in Smith, coach Naka Drotske has the catalyst of the side.

With a lack of depth in the province, Drotske doesn't have the luxury of rotating his players and has pretty much stuck to the same run-on side that was demolished by the Crusaders last weekend.

The Reds-Stormers' clash, in Brisbane also on Friday, promises to be the highlight of the round with both sides coming off important wins.

The build-up to the local derby at Loftus between the Bulls and the Lions on Saturday has been overshadowed by the controversy over the readiness of the pitch for the soccer World Cup matches in June and July.

While the Bulls looked decidedly lacklustre in their final game on the road last weekend, they should be a different team at home.

For the Lions, time is running out to record their first win of the season and if past form is anything to go by, the Bulls should win at a canter.

But Lions' coach Dick Muir disagrees.

"We've studied videos of the Bulls matches and have analysed their style of play," said Muir at the Lions training session at Ellis Park yesterday.

"It's up to us to put into action what we've been working on at training this week."

Last up on Saturday, the Sharks will be looking to keep their winning streak going when the Blues from New Zealand arrive in town.