Cheetahs name 'prodigal son' for Bulls showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie is not afraid to thrust young players into the firing line.
Fourie made some minor tweaks to his team to face the Blue Bulls in round two of the Currie Cup in Pretoria on Saturday.
Victor Sekekete, who joined the Cheetahs from Griquas recently, will make his debut for the Bloemfontein outfit.
Sekekete, 26, started out with the Lions and then played for the Southern Kings, before heading to Kimberley.
Tighthead prop Khutha Mchunu also earns a first start for the team, after playing off the bench in his previous outings.
However, it is on the bench where the proverbial ‘prodigal son’ will make his first appearance.
Former Grey College captain George Cronjé has been named on the bench after returning from a brief stint in France earlier this year.
Cronjé played for Grey College, Free State and SA Schools before heading to France where he represented Clermont.
Rated as the most impressive loose forward at school level in 2019, Cronje was also the SA Schools vice-captain.
He joined the Cheetahs in July.
Several players are still unavailable as a result of long-term injuries.
They include Wilmar Arnoldi (cheek bone), Reniel Hugo (knee), Aranos Coetzee (ankle), Ruan Pienaar (knee), Craig Barry (knee), Charles Marais (neck) and Hencus van Wyk (hamstring).
The Cheetahs, who had a bye in Round One last week, is fourth on the standings.
The Bulls are leading with 27 points, the Sharks occupy second spot with 24 points, followed by Western Province (20), Cheetahs (17), Lions (16), Pumas (seven) and Griquas (four).
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Rhyno Smith, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Victor Sekekete, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Carl Wegner (captain), 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Chris Massyn, 20 George Cronjé, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 William Small-Smith.
Date: Saturday, December 5
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 16.30 )14.30 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron and Paul Mente
TMO: Johan Greeff
