Coach Hawies Fourie announced the Toyota Cheetahs line-up that will face the Windhoek Draught Griquas on their home ground in Toyota Stadium on Saturday at 13:30.
At the back, Robert Ebersohn is replaced by Evardi Boshoff while Ruan Pienaar moves to the flyhalf and Rewan Kruger slots in at scrumhalf. Up front, Friedle Olivier moves to number eight while Siba Qoma comes in on the side of the scrum with George Cronje moving to the bench. The last change is at tighthead lock where Laurence Victor replaces Hencus van Wyk.
“Every team is actually in a position to qualify for the semis, so I don’t think we are especially focusing on making the semis already. We take this week from Monday to Sunday and then only from the next Monday to the next. So, our focus at this point is on the Griquas,” said Rewan Kruger, scrumhalf of the Toyota Cheetahs, on their position in the final rounds.
“The last four weeks were wet, and we are disappointed in how we played our game in Durban. The result is what it is, but we thought the way we approached the game with the experience we picked up in Europe, where we played in those wet conditions, would suit us well, but we got the tactics wrong.” Said Charl Strydom, Toyota Cheetahs Defense Coach.
“We thought we were prepared for that type of game in Durban, and we weren’t, so it was a reality check.”
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Tapiwa Mafura, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. David Brits, 12. Evardi Boshoff, 11. Cohen Jasper, 10. Ruan Pienaar, 9. Rewan Kruger, 8. Friedle Olivier, 7. Siba Qoma, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete (c), 4. Rynier Bernardo 3. Laurence Victor, 2. Marnus van der Merwe, 1. Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: 16. Louis van der Westhuizen, 17. Alulutho Tshakweni, 18. Hencus van Wyk, 19. Andisa Ntsila, 20. George Cronje, 21. Daniel Maartens, 22. Siya Masuku, 23. Robert Ebersohn.
Players not available: The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: Enver Brandt (knee), Frans Steyn (knee), Conraad van Vuuren (lower back), Jeandrè Rudolph (knee), Aranos Coetzee (quad), Munier Hartzenberg (knee) and Brandon de Kock (knee).