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Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has named his side to face the Bulls in Bloemfontein on Friday. Bok tourists Riaan Viljoen and Ashley Johnson will make their Supr 14 debuts at fullback and eighthman respectively.
The bulk of the pack that played so well in the Currie Cup has been retained, with Bok loosehead Wian du Preez back at loosehead after an off-season stint with Munster. Bok flankers Heinrich Brussow and Juan Smith will continue their partnership, while Johnson will be keen to show that he can repeat some of the destructive ball-carrying he did in the Currie Cup last year.
A number of players initially in danger of missing the fixture have been passed fit, with Naas Olivier at flyhalf perhaps the most significant. Olivier and Viljoen are the only Griquas representatives in an otherwise settled-looking Free State backlike, featuring the experienced pair of Meyer Bosman and Corne Uys in the centres.
Former Valke hooker Ryno Barnes, now with Griquas, has been included on the bench.
Cheetahs – 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Corné Uys, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Juan Smith (capt), 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Subs: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Walti Vermeulen, 19 Frans Viljoen, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Danwel Demas.
they dont look to bad, no reason why they cant preform!
I think johnson is overrated. Let’s see how he performs in the super 14
@willa (Comment 1) : Except for one reason…it’s the S14
“Olivier and Viljoen are the only Griquas representatives ” ?
Sarel Pretorius is from Griquas is he not, or has he made a move to the Cheetahs?
For the people who’s playing LMS… Pick the Cheetahs to win in round 2 when they are playing the Sharks, ought to be a sure win for them
@FireTheLooser (Comment 3) : true
@Jarson’s (X + V) (Comment 5) : Sies…gaan spoel jou mond uit (of in hiredie geval – gaan was jou keyboard)
@Greg (Comment 4) : I meant in the starting backline.
@robdylan (Comment 8) : Ah, with you now
Where’s Barend Pieterse these days? Weren’t he supposed to be making a comeback?
Not a bad team. 4/5 and 9/10 may be a bit of a worry but otherwise pretty solid.
Not a bad team at all….let’s see if they can perform against another S14 team except the Sharks this year.
@MysticShark (Comment 10) : he is back in training with them with a view to making a comeback in the Currie Cup.
The Bulls will take this one. Cheetahs centers are rather average and Viljoen has been poor in the preseason games
@wpw (Comment 13) : and we all know the Bulls have great centres…
Bulls team:The team is: Zane Kirchner, Gerhard van den Heever, Jaco Pretorius, Wynand Olivier, Francois Hougaard, Morné Steyn, Fourie du Preez (v/c), Pierre Spies, Pedrie Wannenburg, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield (c), Danie Rossouw, Werner Kruger, Gary Botha, Gurthrö Steenkamp. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Bees Roux, Flip vd Merwe, Derick Kuün, Heini Adams, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Stephan Dippenaar.
Corne Uys is not exactly a class act. If the bulls start giving the ball some air, and lets be fair to them, they have been good with this recently, FS will find themselves in trouble. . .
@war1 (Comment 2) :
TY one good season of CC and they all ready to get RK out of your team! Get real – S14 and CC not the same playground!
@RugbyGal (Comment 17) : RK?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 18) :
The best one ever: Ryan Kankowski! Yes he had a bad year last year. But you don’t go from being the S14 player of the year to nothing. Its time he move to the Stormers – we will appreciate him!