There’s no Juan Smith, unfortunately, but the Cheetahs have hauled out all their available big guns, including the inimitable Heinrich Brüssow, for this weekend’s Super Rugby warm up game against the Kings in East London.
Injuries to props Coenie Oosthuien and WP Nel see promising young Marcel van der Merwe and Trevor Nyakane, both of whom made great strides in last year’s Currie Cup, join forces with skipper Adriaan Strauss in the front row. Izak van der Merwe and Francois Uys complete the tight five, with new Cheetahs (and former Griquas) flank Devon Raubenheimer taking Smiths place at blindside flank. Ash Johnson is at 8 in a useful looking loose trio.
All eyes will be on the young halfback pair, with flyhalf Johan Goosen expected to set the competition alight this year, provided his young scrumhalf Piet van Zyl can provide him with enough ball to do so. The all-Free State midfield of Andries Strauss and Rob Ebersohn is a settled one, while a pair of Griquas flyers in Rocco Jansen and Dusty Noble will operate on the wings.
Big Hennie Daniller has been named to start at fullback in the game which kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, at the Buffalo City stadium.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Lourens Adriaanse, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Philip van der Walt, 20 Marnus Hugo, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Willie le Roux.
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Goosen will do fine. I see Earl Rose is training with the Kings.
@BEN – look there’s Willie le Roux, the former Boland player.
Million dollar question: is this game being televised???
Put Jo-han’s up and wave em round like you just don’t care. Go-osen!!!
@beet (Comment 4) :
Started drinking early this morning?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 1) :
Hope he stopped using illegal substances ..
Megatron’s Kings is gonna get hammered. I wonder if they’ll be recovered enough for the pounding they’ll be receiving from the Sharks later on
@KSA Shark © (Comment 1) : Someone is gonna be very happy about that
Should be an easy win for the Cheetahs by bout 30+
@KSA Shark © (Comment 1) : What a team! With SA’s to finest in Puke and Rose
I’m sorry, but I just cannot see this team doing well in the Super Rugby competition, with or without Juan Smith..
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 11) :
Only lost 2 games by more then 7 points last year… without the likes of Brussow, Smith & Andries Strauss. Missed Adriaan Strauss for half the tournament as well if I remember correctly.
I’m backing the Cheetahs to have their best SR season to date, and finish 3rd or higher among SA teams.
Wonder if Rayno Benjamin is injured, again?!
@Zibbie (Comment 6) : you mean johan goosen?
@hendrikp (Comment 12) :
Good stats for last year yes..
I hope they do well and beat a few overseas teams yes, I just can’t see it.
@Megatron (Comment 13) :
oops yes . sorry i meant to point at beets comments .. my bad ..
@hendrikp (Comment 12) :
they have little to no cover at FH and SH … if either Goosen or van Zyl gets injured they will be in trouble
@Zibbie (Comment 16) :
Sias Ebersohn…
@Zibbie (Comment 16) :
Also Tewis de Bruyn isn’t exactly someone you’d worry about bringing in… rather have then Bondesio
@hendrikp (Comment 17) :
point is if the Lions dont have enough dept the Cheetahs dont either ..
if they can miraculously stay injury free they might do ok .
@hendrikp (Comment 18) :
Ah yes . on the Cheetah forum they refer to him as Tannie Tewis
think he signed for an over seas club though …
@JarsonX (Comment 7) : um, FYI the team the cheetahs are playing is only a combination of Border Bulldogs and SWD Eagles, no EP Kings players will be involved, Andre Human will be coaching them and Solly will be just observing. so calm down
@Zibbie (Comment 20) :
He’s already back I think… was a short-term contract to cover injury.
@Megatron (Comment 21) :
any reason for EP not being involved ?
@hendrikp (Comment 22) :
ah shame … poor Cheetahs
@Zibbie (Comment 23) : i have no idea, some boardroom mumblings going on there, i’m still trying to get to the pulse of the issue.
I quite liked the Cheetahs for a mid table finish again, but now i’m not so sure, looking at the squad? Surely they can do better than Dusty Noble and Rocco Jansen? Depth in key positions has always been their achilles heel, highlighted perhaps by Juan Smith’s achilles tendon…
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 11) : Same here. They can say wha they want these guys will still finish in the bottom 5 of the comp.
@Zibbie (Comment 20) : Playing for Lyon in France. Watched him play in the Amlin Challange Cup (Like the Heineken Cup but for lower teams) the other night.
They were raving about his kicking and then he missed everything that night
Lyon 3rd from 4 in the pool and missed out on the 1/4 finals.
Rickie Januarie also plays for Lyon.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 27) :
Tannie Tewis bakes the pies and rickie eats them
@Megatron (Comment 24) :
Apparently a announcement on the kings involvement in Super rugby will be made after the coach announcement on Friday
@Megatron (Comment 24) : Fear
@JarsonX (Comment 7) : Southern Kings squad:
Elrich van Vuuren (SWD), Vuyo Mboto (Border), Chumani Booi (Border), Duane Jenner (Border), Frans Laatz (Border), Cecil Dumond (SWD), Ntando Kebe (Border), Michael Vermaak (SWD), Gareth Krause (Border), Roy Bursey (Border), Lubabalo Ntyanda (SWD), Anthonie Gronum (Border), Armand Fourie (Border), Dean Hopp (SWD), Blake Kyd (Border).
Replacements:
Khwezi Mkhafu (Border), Jean Rossouw (SWD), Marius Visser (Border), Grant le Roux (SWD), Lyndon Hartnick (SWD), Onke Dubase (Border), Johan Herbst (SWD), Louis Kruger (Border), Jeffrey Taljard (SWD), Logan Basson (Border), Thembani Mkokheli (Border).
this is the team to play the Cheetahs
@Megatron (Comment 31) : Only for the Cheetahs game or the Sharks game too?
@Zibbie (Comment 29) : ek weet, and i bet you the Kings are going to get shafted royally.
@Megatron (Comment 31) : they spelled Dwaynne Jenner’s name wrong… but good to see the lad making the grade there.
@Megatron (Comment 33) :
please dont blame me for hoping the Lions can stay safe ..
@JarsonX (Comment 32) : only for the Cheetahs game.
@Zibbie (Comment 35) : no blame buddy, we’ve been in this spot before and got disappointed so i don’t have my hopes up at all tbh.
@Megatron (Comment 37) :
its a tough situation . bit of a catch 22 . a strong kings team will only be good for south africa . but how much are we willing to sacrifice to get them there .
Maybe they should do the same as the Lions are trying to do . get one or 2 internationals to them (CJ and Butch) . i believe both theses players are making a big difference .
i wanted to say the kings should stop focusing on second stringers and has beens . but then again thats whats working for the Lions atm .
So im thinking all the Kings need is time . but how long will it take them ? to get everything in place and right.
I think statistically the Lions should get on top before the kings because the Lions already have some sort of structures in places . not perfect by any means . but they do have a head start .
Maybe the coach would make all the difference ? in a parallel universe if we have Mitch coaching the Kings ?
@Megatron (Comment 33) : Only because they are arrogant enough to think they can get away with calling for a true regional team and then trying to do everything on their (EP) own.
Oh and don’t worry about SARU shafting the union after the shafting that they are going to get from the SR teams ON the field, the SARU shafting will be easy to handle.
@Megatron (Comment 31) : Isn’t the point that the Kings either beat or give the bigger unions such a run for their money that they change public perception and SARU says “hey wait a minute!”
This Kings team looks like their reserve outfit. Where are their strongest players that will give them a fighting chance???
Great to see Roy Bursey in there. He was an excellent player for Selborne a few years back but only got a game or 2 for the Sharks u21 due to the stiff compo.
@beet (Comment 40) : oh, is Bursey there? You know he’s Craig Burden’s cousin?
EP KINGS 20 – 33 Cheetahs
FULL TIME.
Cheetahs need to worry about this result.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 42) :
Must have been the Grey U15 team that played?!
Kings lead at half time, 20 – 14?!
@KSA Shark © (Comment 42) : @Richard Ferguson (Comment 44) :
@Richard Ferguson (Comment 43) :
That looks like very close to their 1st side that played.
They should be worried.
Can anyone say Chadenfruede?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 46) :
And I got shot down by certain bloggers for saying the Cheetahs will be kak again this season, bottom 5 on the cards.
um, what happened to the smackdown that everyone here promised the Kings would get?
@Megatron (Comment 48) : This wasn’t the Kings, it was a Border SWD invitational.
@Megatron (Comment 48) : well,shouldve just told the cheetahs it wasn’t a warm_up game and I’m sure they wouldve obliged everyone and you with a proper whipping of the “kings” .