The unbeaten Toyota Cheetahs are travelling to Cape Town to face DHL Western Province in the first match of a tricky Carling Currie Cup second round. The action at the DHL Cape Town Stadium will kick off today at 16:45.
Second-placed Toyota Cheetahs return to action following a break in the previous round and Hawies Fourie's charges will fancy their chances to maintain their unbeaten status as they travel to Cape Town for their meeting with DHL WP.
The Free Staters have won all of six games so far this season, while the Cape side could only manage one win from seven starts.
But it won’t be easy, as DHL WP have won two from their last five meetings against the men from Bloemfontein. Earlier this year, the Toyota Cheetahs won 24-17 at home on the opening weekend, but the last time the two sides met in Cape Town, in August last year, the hosts clinched a 40-39 thriller.
Ali Vermaak will start at loosehead prop in the only change to the DHL Western Province team to take on the Toyota Cheetahs at DHL Stadium on Friday.
The inclusion of the experienced Vermaak is the only change to the matchday squad for the Carling Currie Cup encounter, which kicks off at 16h45 on Friday.
DHL Western Province Head Coach Jerome Paarwater said that his team are looking forward to playing in front of the Faithful at DHL Stadium again.
“We have got some good continuity in our selection, so hopefully we will see some growth in those combinations.
“It is always great to be playing on our home ground and the team is determined to put on a good display for our fans,” he said.
This will be a special match for the 34-year-old tighthead prop, Johan (Aranos) Coetzee, who has played in just over 100 matches for the Toyota Cheetahs.
Aranos, a real anchor in the Toyota Cheetah scrum, played in 22 Super Rugby (2016-'17)-, and 23 Currie Cup matches for the Toyota Cheetahs.
Coetzee is the first South African rugby player to represent a SA franchise in 50 Pro14 matches. He played in 52 Pro14 games for the Toyota Cheetahs between 2017 and 2020.
He was also involved in the Promotion / Relegation match for Currie Cup status against the SWD in 2018. In 2021, he wore the Toyota Cheetah No. 3 jersey in four games in the Preparation Series.
Aranos has also been playing Test rugby for his home country, Namibia, since 2015, and was in the World Cup teams of 2015 and 2019. He has already played in 25 Tests for Namibia.
He made his first-class debut in 2010 for the Currie Cup team of the Leopards (11 games) before he made his way to Europe. He played for two French clubs - Racing Metro (2010-'12: 12 games) and Brive (2012-'15: 62 games) before joining the Toyota Cheetahs in early 2016.
DHL Western Province: 15. Tristan Leyds, 14. Sergeal Petersen, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Cornel Smit, 11. Angelo Davids, 10. Timothy Swiel, 9. Godlen Masimla, 8. Keke Morabe, 7. Marcel Theunissen, 6. Nama Xaba (captain), 5. Connor Evans, 4. Ben-Jason Dixon, 3. Sazi Sandi, 2. JJ Kotze, 1. Ali Vermaak. Replacements: 16. Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17. Kwenzo Blose, 18. Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19. Simon Miller, 20. Jarrod Taylor, 21. Bobby Alexander, 22. Kade Wolhuter, 23. Mnombo Zwelendaba.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Cohen Jasper, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. David Brits, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Rosko Specman, 10. Reinhardt Fortuin, 9. Ruan Pienaar (c), 8. Jeandré Rudolph, 7. Andisa Ntsila, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete, 4. Aidon Davis, 3. Aranos Coetzee, 2. Louis van der Westhuizen, 1. Alulutho Tshakweni. Relacements: 16. Marnus van der Merwe, 17. Cameron Dawson, 18. Marne Coetzee, 19. Ockie Barnard, 20. Mihlali Mosi, 21. Rewan Kruger, 22. Brandon Thomson, 23. Robert Ebersohn.
