Cheetahs escape unscathed from COVID scare
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: The Cheetahs have escaped unscathed from the COVID-19 scare that forced the cancellation of their pre-season outing against the Pumas.
Last week the Cheetahs faced the Eastern Province Elephants in Bloemfontein and 11 players from the visiting team and their head coach tested positive for COVID-19.
The Cheetah group, which includes players and team management, all tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday.
The warm-up match against the Pumas, which was scheduled for Friday, was cancelled due to uncertainty.
The Cheetah group was tested again on Thursday and only one player tested positive.
The Cheetahs will now play a warm-up match against the Griquas in Kimberley on Friday afternoon.
The match serves as preparation for the Currie Cup, which kicks off for the Cheetahs on June 26 – when the two teams will be facing each other again in Kimberley.
Teams
Griquas: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Ederies Arendse, 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruan Steenkamp, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Andries Schutte, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel.
Replacements – from: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Tijde Visser, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Andrew Kuhn, 20 Mzwanele Zito, 21 Carl Els, 22 Hanru Sirgel, 23 Siba Qoma, 24 Raegan Oranje, 25 George Whitehead, 26 Enver Brandt, 27 Johnathan Francke, 28 Christopher Hollis, 29 Ashlon Davids.
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Aidon Davis, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Derik Pretorius, 4 Jacques Potgieter, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements – from: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Alulutho Tsakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Brandon Fortuin, 20 Chris Massyn, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 David Brits, 24 Branden de Kock, 25 Siya Masuku, 26 Luhan Potgieter, 27 Gideon Van Wyk.
Date: Friday, June 11
Venue: Griqua Park, Kimberley
Kick-off: 12.30 (10.30 GMT)
Referee: Paul Mente
