The Scarlets-bound Toyota Cheetahs hooker, Marnus van der Merwe, will make a welcome return to the field on Saturday when they tackle the Valke in Kempton Park in round seven of the SA Cup.

Van der Merwe has been on the sidelines for the past few weeks with an injury, but he has recovered and will play in one of his last games for the Cheetahs before heading to Wales.

The Cheetahs have battled in the SA Cup, even in the games that they won, and the return of the experienced Van der Merwe will be a very welcome boost.

The Director of Rugby at the Cheetahs, Frans Steyn, told OFM Sport that they want to given the rock-solid player a proper send off following many years of loyal and dedicated service to Free State rugby.

“I think that he has got his own personal battles at the moment, and that is to get into the Springbok squad,” said Steyn.

“He is in the training squad, or whatever they call it these days, so I think that he has got a point to prove for himself.

“For us, we want send him off with a big hoorah - he has done a good job for the Cheetahs over the years, and he has been here for a long time.

“What we're doing at the moment is just giving him a proper handshake and saying thanks for everything that you have done for us and good luck for the journey ahead.”

Saturday’s match between the Valke and Cheetahs at the Barnard Stadium kicks off at 15:00.

Cheetahs – 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 S'bu Nkosi, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Andell Loubser, 11 Daniel Kasende, 10 George Lourens, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Sibabalo Qoma, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Lewis Jones, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira

Replacements – 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Justin Forwood, 19 Tristan Davies, 20 Sisonke Vumazonke, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 Abner van Reenen, 23 Rethabile Mzamo

Morgan Piek OFM Sport