The Toyota Cheetahs, meanwhile, will have to make the long trip down to Wellington in the Western Cape, where they’ll face Hawies Fourie’s Boland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers qualified for the Premier Division by finishing fourth on the SA Cup log, which resulted in the Griffons being relegated to the First Division.

David Brits. Photo: Morgan Piek

To strengthen their squad ahead of the Currie Cup, Boland have signed former Cheetahs centre David Brits, as well as ex-Springbok scrumhalf Louis Schreuder. Although they narrowly lost their recent warm-up match in Saldanha to the Griquas 24-20, the Cavaliers will be no pushovers.

Back in the opening round of the SA Cup, Boland stunned the Cheetahs with a 45–29 win – a match the Cheetahs arguably should have won. Since then, the Free Staters have made major improvements to their game and went on to reach the semi-finals, where they were somewhat unlucky not to reach the final.

Victor Sekekete. Photo: Morgan Piek

Although the Cheetahs lost their first warm-up game to the Peacock Blues in Bultfontein, they made a strong statement a week later by beating Georgia 24–20 in Bloemfontein.

Free State may have the Namibian international trio of Aranos Coetzee (tighthead prop), Chucky van der Westhuizen (hooker), and Tiaan Swanepoel (flyhalf) back in the mix. However, as they’ve just returned from international duty, they may not be considered for selection this week.

The lock Victor Sekekete, who captained the Cheetahs in the match against Georgia, told OFM Sport that he believes the team is far better prepared heading into the clash in Wellington this time around.

“Yes, I think looking back at the SA Cup games, a lot of the matches we lost were down to our own mistakes,” said Sekekete.

“It wasn’t because of anything else. We’re really looking forward to the Currie Cup – I think it’s going to be a very competitive tournament.

Chucky van der Westhuizen. Photo: Morgan Piek

“Boland have stocked up on some quality players, and that’s what we want. A tough, competitive Currie Cup. Like you saw against Georgia, when the challenge is there, players step up.

“For South African rugby, that’s good. And for us as players, it’s what we want. We want to be challenged, we want the competition, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Sunday’s match between Boland and the Cheetahs in Wellington kicks off at 15:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg