The NovaVit Griffons will host the Toyota Cheetahs on Sunday at the Down Touch Investments in Welkom at 14:00 (SA Time) in Round 2 of the Currie Cup Premier Division.
The Welkom-based outfit faded after a lively opening spell against the Cell C Sharks last weekend in Durban, and the purple jerseys will have to find a counter for Cheethas' talisman Pienaar if they want to have any chance of a home upset.
Last weekend, the 39-year-old Pienaar showed that “age is but a number” when he steered the Toyota Cheetahs to a comfortable 42-19 win over the men from Kimberley in the Diamond City – a venue where visiting teams seldom have it easy.
Expect the vastly experienced Pienaar to be once more the driving force behind the Free Staters’ onslaught when they travel north.
NovaVit Griffons' coach Jacques Juries said, "The Toyota Cheetahs would look at our weaknesses, we are looking forward to this Free State derby, and we will look to entertain the people of Welkom with the quality of our game in our first Currie Cup home game.”
Toyota Cheetahs' head coach, Hawies Fourie has made five changes to his starting line-up.
The only change made at the back is at the outside centre where Evardi Boshoff replaces Robert Eberohn who drops to the bench.
Up front, several changes were made. Anditsa Ntsila replaces Jeandrè Rudolph at number eight while Mzwanele Zito replaces Rynier Bernardo at lock. An almost new front row will start the battle with Coenraad Janse van Vuuren (tighthead), Marko Janse van Rensburg (hooker) joining Schalk Ferreira.
“The Griffons has a physical team and a good kicking game. The most important thing will be to be mentally switched on,” said Coach Hawies Fourie. “We want to build on last week. We haven’t played our best rugby yet. So there’s more to come, and we want to improve in every game we play. There’s a lot of room for improvement, especially on attack.”
Teams:
NovaVit Griffons: 15. Domenic Smit, 14. Duren Hoffman, 13. Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12. Marquit September, 11. Jamba Ulengo, 10. Duan Pretorius, 9. Jaywinn Juries, 8. Sokhuphumla Xakalashe, 7. Jean Pretorius, 6. Mitchell Carstens, 5. Michael Benadie, 4. Jaco Willemse, 3. Doctor Booysen, 2. Dandre Delport, 1. Stephan De Jager. Replacements: 16. Hendrik Van Schoor, 17. Xolani Jacobs, 18. Buhle Nojekwa, 19. Wikus Nieuwenhuis, 20. Thato Mavundla, 21. Richman Gora, 22. Robbie Petzer, 23. Keanu Vers.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Tapiwa Mafura, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. Evardi Boshoff, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Munier Hartzenberg, 10. Reinhardt Fortuin, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Anditsa Ntsila , 7. Friedle Olivier, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete (c), 4. Mzwanele Zito, 3. Coenraad Janse van Vuuren, 2. Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1.Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: 16. Alulutho Tshakweni, 17. Louis van der Westhuizen, 18. Hencus van Wyk, 19. Rynier Barnardo, 20. Daniel Maartens, 21. Rewan Kruger, 22. Robert Ebersohn, 23. Cohen Jasper.