Franco Smith
Toyota Free State Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has named his team for their crucial Currie Cup clash against the Cell C Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Smith made changes to his pack from the team that drew 37 / 37 with the Steval Pumas in Nelspruit last weekend.
Loose forward Boom Prinsloo is fit again and replaces Gerhard Olivier in the No 6 jersey, with Olivier moving down to the bench in place of Ruan van Rensburg.
Neill Jordaan also replaces De Wet Kruger at No 8, while Armandt Koster replaces Reniel Hugo at lock, with the latter moving to the bench in the place of Willem Serfontein.
Jacques du Toit is also back at hooker, with Neil Rautenbach on the bench in place of Chase Morison.
BG Uys and Teunis Nieuwoudt also switch places at loosehead prop, with Uys in the starting line-up.
The Free State Cheetahs are currently 4th on the Log, 2 points ahead of the 5th-placed Cell C Sharks.
It is the final round-robin clash of the season for both sides, which means the match will effectively be a ‘quarterfinal’.
The winner will face the Xerox Golden Lions in the semifinals at Emirates Airline Park.
Toyota Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (Captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 BG Uys
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Teunis Nieuwoudt, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Freddy Ngoza, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Ruan van Rensburg, 22 Niel Marais, 23 AJ Coertzen.
Date: Saturday 10 October
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-Off: 14:00 SA Time (12:00 GMT)
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Jaco van Heerden, Rico van der Hoven
TMO: JJ Wagner