Rugby
Van der Merwe back for Currie Cup semi-final─── MORGAN PIEK 11:08 Fri, 17 Jun 2022
The Toyota Cheetahs have made one change to their starting XV for Saturday’s Currie Cup semi-final against the Pumas in Bloemfontein.
The only change to the run-on side sees Gideon van der Merwe returning to start at flank. This season Andisa Ntsila rotate to the bench.
The coach, Hawies Fourie, has opted for a four-three split on the bench and this sees Reinhardt Fortuin return from his injury as a replacement flyhalf.
George Cronjé and Mihali Mosi have been dropped for the game.
The last time the Cheetahs and Pumas met in Bloemfontein the team from the Lowveld stunned the Currie Cup log-leaders with a 29-28 victory.
The Cheetahs captain, Ruan Pienaar, told OFM Sport that it’s important to stick to what works for them and to just do it slightly better.
“They will be really excited because they haven't been in the semi-final of the Currie Cup for a long time,” said the Springbok scrumhalf.
“For us it is the same. We've got a lot of new players in our squad. Guys that have come through the Varsity Cup, so there are a lot of our players that will get their first experience of semi-final rugby in the Currie Cup as well.
“We just want to stick to our DNA. The way we've been playing just has to be done 5 to 10 percent better than we have done throughout the season.”
Saturday's semi-final at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 13:30.
Cheetahs - 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 David Brits, 12 Chris Smith, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Aidon Davis, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Chucky van der Westhuizen, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements - 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Marné Coetzee, 19 Ockie Barnard, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 Robert Ebersohn.
Pumas - 15 Devon Williams, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Sebastian de Klerk, 12 Eddie Fouché, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Chriswell September, 8 André Fouché, 7 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Shane Kirkwood, 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Corné Fourie.
Replacements - 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Simon Raw, 19 Kwanda Dimaza, 20 Francois Kleynhans, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Alwayno Visagie.
