Cheetahs name full-strength side
Sergeal Petersen will replace Blitzbok Ryno Benjamin on the right wing, while Paul Schoeman will replace Henco Venter. Petersen and Schoeman recovered from injuries just in time to boost the side ahead of the semifinals.
In the front row, Torsten van Jaarsveld will replace Jacques du Toit as hooker.
The Cheetahs head into the semifinals as most successful in the tournament, being the competition's only unbeaten side with nine points clear at the top of the standings ahead of the second-placed Blue Bulls.
The Bloemfontein side produced some scintillating rugby and scored 49 tries in eight matches (an average of more than six tries a match), the only team to match that is their opponents the Golden Lions.
Earlier this week, Smith told rugby365 that he will not change their approach and will continue to focus on the bigger picture.
"From day one you have to play the game [style] that you want to play in a Final.
"There might be one or two things we do differently, but we have worked on winning every game and the semifinal is the same,"
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francios Venter (captain), 12 Nico Lee, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo , 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.
Replacement: 16 Jacques Du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Armandt Koster, 19 Henco Venter, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Fred Zeilinga, 22 Ryno Benjamin, 23 Conrad Van Vuuren.
Date: Saturday, October 15
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Rodney Boneparte
TMO: Marius Jonker
