Cheetahs bring in Varsity guns
New Cheetahs coach, Franco Smith has brought in two UFS-Shimlas Varsity Cup stars to the starting XV in his first game at the helm of the Super Rugby franchise against the Waratahs on Saturday.
No.8 Niell Jordaan and flyhalf Neil Marais will make their Super Rugby debuts in the Cheetahs final home game of the campaign, as part of numerous changes to the team that suffered a 12-42 defeat at the hands of the Stormers.
In the forwards, Burrie Uys moves off the bench in a swap with Danie Mienie, while Tinie Burger and Johannes Prinsloo switch positions at the side of the scrum. Jordaan replaces Henco Venter at No.8 as the latter takes his place among the replacements.
Joe Pietersen, who will be leaving to the Sharks at the conclusion of the Super Rugby competition, relinquishes his No.10 jersey to Marais who will be partnered with Sarel Pretorius as the halfback pairing.
Springbok flyer Cornal Hendricks replaces the injured Raymond Rhule at left wing while Ryno Benjamin moves off the bench to take his place at inside centre, replacing Michael van der Spuy while Coenie van Wyk replaces Clayton Blommetjies, who misses the match altogether, at fullback.
Elandré Hugget, if he gets on the field, will make his debut off the bench taking Stephan Coetzee's seat, with fellow Shimlas team mate Gerhard Olivier replacing Willie Britz and there is also a spot for Shaun Venter.
Cheetahs: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Cornal Hendricks, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Johannes Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Burrie Uys.
Replacements: 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Joe Pietersen.
Date: Saturday, June 6
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 (13.00 GMT, 23.00 AEST)
Referee: Glen Jackson
Assistant referees: Jaco van Heerden, Lourens van der Merwe
TMO: Johan Greeff
