A week ago the Bulls had to grid to a 30-23 win over the Griquas, while the Cheetahs made fairly light work of beating the Pumas 53-31.

The response by Jake White was to make five changes to the Bulls team, with the most notable being the return of the Springbok, Duane Vermeulen.

Du Toit, who will make his official return to the Cheetahs, told OFM Sport that their counterparts cannot be underestimated.

“Having played a lot of games against the Bulls in the past I can tell you they are always going to be a challenge.

“It doesn’t matter who they field on the day, it’s a team with a lot of pride and history.

“There is always going to be a challenge, especially amongst the forwards in terms of physicality.

“They’ve got some quality players and it doesn’t matter if they made some mistakes against the Griquas. 

"They will be out to correct those mistakes against us and they will definitely come with a plan.”

On his return to the Cheetahs from the Southern Kings, Du Toit said that he is happy to be back at the team whose culture and brand of rugby he knows all too well.

“I’m really excited to be back with the team. I’m no stranger to the culture and the type of rugby we play here in the Free State.

“I prepared myself in the lockdown for a competition and unfortunately the Kings got liquidated, but luckily I’m here with the Cheetahs now.

“I’m really excited to be back on the field with the boys and hopefully I get a lot of minutes off the bench to bring some experience and intensity.”

The last time Du Toit played for the Cheetahs was during the 2019 Currie Cup final when they beat the Golden Lions 31-28 in Bloemfontein.

Friday evening's match at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 19:00.

Toyota Cheetahs - 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais.

Replacements – 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Chris Massyn, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 William Small-Smith.

Bulls - 15 Gio Aplon, 14 David Kriel, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.

Replacements - 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport