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Cheetahs team to face Southern Kings

By

Rory Duncan
Cheetahs Coach, Rory Duncan, when he was the Southern Kings Captain in January 2011

Coach Rory Duncan has announced his team to take on the Kings in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 13 January 2018.

The match will be broadcast live on SuperSport 1. It is the first time the two local teams meet in Guinness PRO14. The last time the two teams faced each other was in July when they made their final Vodacom SuperRugby appearances. The Toyota Cheetahs have won all four previous fixtures between the two.

“Dealing with pressure, we’ve been taking this season week by week and not looking ahead, but this is the week we’ve been waiting for – the first South African derby. It is going to be real tough and physical game. We expect the Kings to come out guns blazing, but so will we,” said Torsten van Jaarsveld who will be leading the team on the field.

Changes to the team from last week:

  • Clayton Blommetjies is back on fullback with Craig Barry starting on right wing.
  • Nico Lee will be wearing the number 13 jersey, replacing injured captain, Francois Venter. Venter sustained a neck injury in the match against Benneton Rugby last week.
  • Niel Marais will be starting on number 12.
  • Props Ox Nche and Tom Botha are included in the starting line-up. Charles Marais and Johan Coetzee who will be providing cover on the bench.
  • Justin Basson will be replacing Carl Wegner as no. 4 lock.
  • Henco Venter is back on the bench after a long time on the side line due to a concussion he sustained in Round 6 against Glasgow.

Flyhalf, Fred Zeilinga will be playing in his 50th match for the Toyota Cheetahs and Makazole Mapimpi is with 9 tries currently the top Guinness PRO14 try scorer in the championship.

The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: Francois Venter (neck), William Small-Smith (knee), Niel Jordaan (ankle), Tian Meyer (groin), Elandré Huggett (knee), Ruan van Rensburg (knee), Dennis Visser (knee), Tertius Kruger (lower leg), Lloyd Greeff (shoulder), Luther Obi (forearm), Malcolm Jaer (ankle).

Toyota Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies
14 Craig Barry
13 Nico Lee
12 Niel Marais
11 Makazola Mapimpi
10 Fred Zeilinga
9 Shaun Venter

1 Ox Nche
2 Van Jaarsveld, Torsten (C)
3 Tom Botha
4 Justin Basson
5 Reniel Hugo
6 Paul Schoeman
7 Oupa Mohoje
8 Uzair Cassiem

Replacements

16 Jacques du Toit
17 Charles Marais
18 Johan Coetzee
19 Rynier Bernardo
20 Junior Pokomela
21 Henco Venter
22 Zee Mkhabela
23 AJ Coertzen

The referee for the match is Stuart Berry. He will be assisted by Cwengile Jadezweni and AJ Jacobs. The TMO is Shaun Veldsman.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.