The Toyota Cheetahs kick off their Carling Currie Cup campaign this Sunday at 13:00 (SA Time) when they host the Fidelity ADT Lions at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Head coach Frans Steyn has named an exciting lineup for the opening clash, headlined by two-time World Cup-winning scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, who will make his eagerly anticipated debut for the Free State side. De Klerk forms a new-look halfback pairing with flyhalf Jaco van der Walt.
Adding to the excitement is the return to South Africa of loose forward Simon Miller from Japan's Shizuoka Blue Revs. Miller is known for his physicality, work ethic and ability to contribute on both sides of the ball.
"I'm positive about the season," said Steyn. "We had a couple of injuries, but most of the players are back. Everyone is fit and training, and there's a good vibe in the camp."
Steyn acknowledged the immense challenge posed by last year's tournament runners-up. "The Lions are a quality outfit and are well-coached. We can only control what is in our hands: preparing and executing our plans well. I think all the teams in this year's Currie Cup are well-coached and have good players who will do well this year."
Cheetahs captain Neels Volschenk echoed his coach's sentiments regarding the depth of the Johannesburg franchise.
"It doesn't matter which team the Lions select; they have talented players with good coaches," Volschenk noted. "It is a good opportunity to measure yourself against the Lions in the opening game of the season. We'll have to play good rugby to have a positive result."
Toyota Cheetahs: 1 Tielman Niewoudt, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg , 3 Aranos Coetzee, 4 Carl Wegner, 5 Victor Sekekete, 6 Ramon Uys, 7 Juan Venter, 8 Neels Volschenk (c), 9 Faf de Klerk, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 11 Michael Annies, 12 Zander du Plessis, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 14 Cohen Jasper, 15 Clayton Blommetjies. Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Dux Manyama, 18 Frankie Dos Reis, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Ethan Wentzel, 23 Prince Nkabinde.
The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: Arno van der Merwe and Pierre Uys (back), Vice Hofmeyer (shoulders), Ntokozo Makhaza (knee), Louis van der Westhuizen, John-Kelly Okonkwo and Tiaan Swanepoel (all ankles), and Gideon van der Merwe (lower leg).