The powerful Van der Merwe has made the switch from the Griquas to the Cheetahs and he will play in the number six jersey on Saturday.

The coach, Hawies Fourie, told OFM Sport that Van der Merwe has slotted in well with the team and will add a lot of value.

“He has slotted in really well. He is a positive guy and brings a lot of energy and trains really hard.

“All of the things that we like in a player we get from him. He is really tough and is putting in the hard work.

“He doesn't stand back for anyone in training. That is what we need - some good competition among the loose-forwards. We have got some injuries in the department.

“Guys like Andisa Ntsila, Jeandré Rudolph, and George Cronjé are still injured, but when they are back then there will be one hell of a competition between the loose-forwards for the starting jersey.”

Van der Merwe is a player very much in the same mold as the Cheetahs legend, Brüssow, and Fourie added that he looks forward to seeing him in action.

“On the ground, he is as good as Heinz was. Heinz was a bit more skillful with the ball in hand than Gideon is.

“Gideon is a tough guy that runs hard and doesn't stand back for anyone. I like that attitude.

“It's a good comparison between the two because they have the same strengths.”

Saturday’s warm-up for the Toyota Challenge Cup gets underway at 10:00.

Cheetahs team one - 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Craig Barry, 13 David Brits, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Branden de Kock, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Reinier Viljoen, 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Beertjie van Vuuren, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.

Cheetahs team two - 15 Craig Barry, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Enver Brandt, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Zinedine Booysen, 8 Lohan Potgieter, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Marnus van der Merwe, 5 Jeandré Labuschagne, 4 Sergio Moreira, 3 Marné Coetzee, 2 Janus Venter, 1 Cameron Dawson and Schalk Ferreira.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport