Varsity Cup winning captain, AJ Coertzen gets his first Currie Cup start of the season with the player replacing Coenie van Wyk at fullback, while flyhalf Fred Zeilinga will be making his run-on debut for the side after joining from the Sharks.

While Coertzen’s kicking game is perhaps his slight weakness, it’s is an area which has received a lot attention.

Furthermore, experienced pivot, Sias Ebersohn makes his return to the team this weekend after a spell at the Western Force in Perth, Australia. Ebersohn will be playing off the bench as cover for both flyhalf and fullback.

Another Shimlas player who to won the Varsity Cup this year, Niell Jordaan has recovered from injury and will replace Gerhard Oliver at eighth-man, with the latter moving to the bench.

Armand Koster gets his first start as well and will be partnering captain Francois Uys in the second-row.

Former U20 Springbok hooker, Jacques du Toit also cracks the nod for a start after playing off the bench against the Bulls. Neil Rautenbach who made his debut last weekend drops out of the match-22 along with Van Wyk and Tienie Burger.

Coach Franco Smith told OFM Sport that none of the charges are due to injury or poor former, but it’s a case of testing which combinations work best.

“We’re fortunate that no one got seriously injured against the Bulls, so I’m excited about that.

“At this stage we have everyone apart from three players to select from.

“A lot of these changes have nothing to do with form, I need to keep the wheel turning and we are in a building process so we’ve got to get some of these other players on the field.

In an exciting move, Smith has named centre Tertius Kruger on the bench giving the player who turned 22-years old on Sunday a crack at the big league.

The powerful Shimlas midfielder also proved his worth during the Varsity Cup this year.

Smith added that it’s imperative that these players get an opportunity in Currie Cup rugby.

“We must see the bigger picture, I know the Free State and Cheetahs supporters are really excited to win something and get the bragging right.

“We all want it, if you ask the players who plays to with and it will be all of them.

“It’s really important to give a lot of players’ game time and give the exciting guys experience. When are how are we going to up their experience and involvement if we don’t give them an opportunity?

Saturday's match at Newlands in Cape Town kicks off 15:00.

Toyota Free State Cheetahs – 15 AJ Coertzen, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 Francois Venter, 13 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (Captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.

Replacements – 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Maks van Dyk, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Gerhard Olivier, 20 Zee Mkabela, 21 Tertius Kruger, 22 Sias Ebersohn.

Morgan Piek / OFM News