Photo Credit: Speedshots.co.za
Toyota Cheetahs head coach Hawies Fourie announced an almost unchanged team for their fixture against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town @ 19h00 on Saturday.
Two changes were made to the forward pack with new signees Jeandre Rudolph (Pumas) and Ian Groenewald (Griquas) making their first appearance for the boys from Bloemfontein. Frans Steyn did practise well this morning but the Cheetahs will wait for the final practice this afternoon to make a final decision according to head coach Hawies Fourie.
The Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked match between the Cell C Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs displayed how both teams battled to make their presence felt in an error-ridden first half, which saw only six points being scored compliments of two penalty goals by Bosch.
The match livened up in the second half, but the last 13 minutes proved to be crucial as the Toyota Cheetahs took the lead before being reduced to 14 men, which saw the momentum switch in the home team’s favour
After five rounds of action the Vodacom Bulls remain the log leaders on 19 points from four wins, followed by the Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers (both on 13 points), the Toyota Cheetahs (12), Emirates Lions (10), Phakisa Pumas (5) and Tafel Lager Griquas (2).
Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Francois Steyn/Chris Smit, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Junior Pokomela (captain), 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais. Replacements: 16 Boan Venter, 17 Marnus vd Merwe, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 JP de Preez, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 Chris Smit/Howard Mnisi.