The Lelos held their captain’s run in Bloemfontein on Thursday morning and have named a different squad to the one that faced Ireland last week in Tbilisi.

Their goal is to fine-tune ahead of next week’s clash against the Springboks in Nelspruit.

Former Leicester Tigers coach – and now Georgia’s head coach – Richard Cockerill, told OFM Sport that this is a big opportunity for his side.

Vakhtang Jintcharadze. Photo: Morgan Piek

“Yeah, look, it’s great to get the invitation. The Cheetahs are obviously a massive franchise in South African rugby with a proud history, and for us to come here and play in their 130th anniversary match is a real privilege,” said Cockerill, who has previously been to Bloemfontein with Edinburgh.

“It’s a great experience for our players. It’s proper African rugby – which is fantastic.”

Like the Cheetahs, Georgian rugby is also searching for consistent opportunities to play competitive rugby. They face limited meaningful competition in the second tier of the Six Nations, while Black Lion competes in the EPCR Challenge Cup on an invitational basis, much like the Free Staters.

Cockerill added that facing the Cheetahs this week and the world champion Springboks next week is a massive opportunity – one they intend to grab with both hands.

“We’ve got a lot of domestic players in this team, while many others play in the French Pro D2. The cream of the crop play in the Top 14 – not always regularly, but they’re exposed to that level,” the former Leicester and England international hooker added.

Roddy Grant. Photo: Morgan Piek

“Coming here, playing at altitude, in front of what we expect will be a big and passionate crowd – hopefully in good humour – is something special for us.

“The Cheetahs are a big, physical team. They’re just starting their season and will be nice and fresh, while we’re wrapping ours up. So it’s a brilliant experience and a chance to learn a lot about our squad.”

Friday night’s historic clash between the Toyota Cheetahs and Georgia kicks off at 19:00 at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.

Cheetahs - 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Ntokozo Makhaza, 13 Marko Jansen van Vuren, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Banie Britz, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 3 Frankie Dos Reis, 2 Marco Janse van Rensburg, 1 Hencus van Wyk

Replacements - 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Ben Pitout, 19 Sisonke Vumazonke, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Jandré Nel, 22 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 23 Clayton Blommetjies

Georgia -  15 Dachi Papunashvili, 14 Shalva Aptsiauri, 13 Tornike Kakhoidze, 12 Giorgi Khaindrava, 11 Otar Metreveli 10 Tedo Abzhandadze (captain), 9 Tengiz Peranidze, 8 Ilia Spanderashvili, 7 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 6 Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, 5 Demuri Epremidze, 4 Guram Ghaniashvili, 3 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 2 Irakli Kvatadze, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili

Replacements - 16 Vakhtang Jincharadze, 17 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Mikheil Babunashvili, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Luka Matkava, 23 Demur Tapladze

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg