The New Nation Pumas host the Toyota Cheetahs this afternoon @ 11h45 in Nelspruit. A lot is at stake and although both the New Nation Pumas and Tafel Lager Griquas lost on Wednesday, they would have taken a lot of confidence from their performances as they aim to stay in the race to the playoffs.
Neither side can really afford to lose, which will add some extra spice to this catfight. The Free Staters snuck through by a solitary point the last time these sides met, in the fourth round, and would have taken notice of the Pumas’ form.
New Nation Pumas head coach Jimmy Stonehouse made eleven changes to the starting lineup to face the Toyota Cheetahs.
In the backline, it is only Sebastián de Klerk that survived the cut while captain Pieter van Vuuren, Phumzile Maqondwana and Marne Coetzee are the survivors upfront.
The Toyota Cheetahs will be travelling to Nelspruit, two days after taking on the Griquas, to battle it out against the Pumas. Coach Hawies Fourie made several changes to his starting lineup.
At the back, Craig Barry makes way for Duncan Saal on the wing and Ruan Pienaar (#10) and Tian Meyer (#9) are the new halfback pairing.
Upfront, Mihlali Mosi replaces Aidon Davis at number eight, with Davis moving to #6 in the place of Andisa Ntsila. Rynier Bernardo replaces Jean Droste at lock
“We see this as a very important game and we’ve selected our best possible team.” Said, Coach Hawies Fourie.
Coach Hawies announced his team for the encounter with a couple of changes.
“Duncan Saal is replacing Craig Barry. He recovered faster than we thought and it is good to have him back. He is a really good finisher and he is defending well in our system. Hopefully, that will make a difference.”
“Ruan played very well against the Griquas on flyhalf and we decided to stick with that and with Brandon Thomson on the bench coming in for the injured Reinhardt Fortuin.”
“We had a look at the game against the Griquas again and saw that we had quite a good flow on the attack with Ruan on 10. He could shift the contact points and make Griquas work, which is what we want to do and how we want to play.”
“We decided to rotate the loose forwards and had to decide between Andisa, Junior and Aidon. We felt that Andisa is more suitable to come onto the field from the bench. He is a skilful player with a lot of speed and he can make a difference in the last 20 minutes. His ability to make turnover balls on breakdown also played a role in the decision.”
“With Mosi coming in we’ve got a very good ball carrier added to our pack. He is explosive with the ball in hand and a very good carrier. Hencus will cover loosehead and Beertjie will cover tighthead.”
New Nation Pumas: 15. Devon Williams, 14. Sebastián de Klerk, 13. Erich Cronje, 12. Matt More, 11. Ettienne Taljaard, 10. Eddie Fouche, 9. Ginter Smuts, 8. Willie Engelbrecht, 7. Phumzile Maqondwana, 6. Daniel Maartens, 5. Pieter van Vuuren, 4. Shane Kirkwood, 3. Marne Coetzee, 2. Simon Westraadt, 1. Dewald Maritz. Replacements: 16. Eduan Swart, 17. Ettiene Janeke, 18. IG Prinsloo, 19. Kwanda Dimazad, 20. Niel Otto, 21. Chriswell September, 22. Ali Mgijimae, 23. Tapiwa Mafura.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Clayton Blommetjies, 14. Duncan Saal, 13. David Brits, 12. Siya Masuku, 11. Malcolm Jaer, 10. Ruan Pienaar (C), 9. Tian Meyer, 8. Mihlali Mosi, 7. Aidon Davis, 6. Junior Pokomela, 5. Victor Sekekete, 4. Rynier Bernardo, 3. Aranos Coetzee, 2. Marnus van der Merwe, 1. Cameron Dawson. Replacements: 16. Louis van der Westhuizen, 17. Hencus van Wyk, 18. Conraad van Vuuren, 19. Reinier Viljoen, 20. Andisa Ntsila, 21. Chris Smit, 22. Brandon Thomson, 23. Evardi Boshoff.