The Toyota Cheetahs centre, Evardi Boshoff, is locked-and-loaded to make his long-awaited return to the field on the weekend.

Boshoff is expected to be named in the Cheetahs team for the away match to Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday.

The 25-year-old hasn’t played for the Cheetahs since January when they lost 28-27 to Oyonnax in France in the EPCR Challenge Cup. This is because of injury and an extended loan spell with the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship.

The return of Boshoff comes at a very welcome time as Munier Hartzenberg sustained a shoulder injury against the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein last week. He will be out of action for at least a week.

Evardi Boshoff scoring his try against the Bulls in the 2023 Currie Cup semi-final - Morgan Piek

The former UCT Ikeys midfielder Boshoff told OFM Sport that he is itching to take to the field in the Mother City.

“It’s very good news, I will be playing this weekend,” said Boshoff.

“I've been out for quite a couple of weeks now - it was supposed to be eight to ten weeks but it turned out to be 12 weeks. It's very good news that I'm back and fit to play. I'm really excited to be back in the Cheetahs outfit, my last game was against Oyonnax and I don't know how many months it's been.

“My record is pretty decent at the Cape Town Stadium - especially after this year's win with the Ospreys in the URC competition as well. It's always nice to go there - it's always tough, but hopefully we can walk away with a win this weekend. It's a very important game for us as well.

“The competition just gets tougher-and-tougher in this year's Currie Cup. It will be massive to walk away with a win. But, I’m really excited to be back with the Cheetahs and hopefully we'll get a decent game. Let’s just hope that the weather isn’t too bad either, but we’re really just looking forward to that.”

Saturday’s game between Western Province and the Cheetahs at the Cape Town Stadium kicks off at 19:10.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport