The team from Nelspruit will be up against the Toyota Cheetahs in round one, and apart from a recent warm-up game against a Bulls team, it will be their first competitive rugby in more than a year.

The Cheetahs in turn last played a competitive match in March during the Guinness PRO14.

The Pumas hooker, AJ le Roux, told OFM Sport that they want to test themselves against a team with big names.

“We can’t wait for the competition to start. It has been a long time for us without any competition to play in.

“We had a good and tough preseason and we are looking to playing against full-strength franchises and we want to start this competition well.

“We look forward to the game against the Cheetahs, especially with them having a few senior guys and Springboks.

“We just can’t wait for this weekend.”

Saturday’s game at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 16:30.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport