JOHANNESBURG - In the absence of first choice skipper Francois Venter, hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld will captain the Cheetahs in their opening match of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
The Cheetahs, hot off winning the Currie Cup title in October after going 10 games unbeaten, are up against last season’s Super Rugby finalists, the Lions.
The match in Bloemfontein kicks off at 3pm.
Two players, lock Justin Basson and centre Clinton Swart, will make their Super Rugby debuts. It is a powerful looking side picked by coach Franco Smith, with the loose-trio of Paul Schoeman, Uzair Cassiem and Oupa Mohoje especially impressive.
“I am satisfied with where we are after the pre-season,” said Smith on Thursday when he announced his lineup.
“Everyone trained really hard and we are as well prepared as we can be. The majority of the players have played Super Rugby and know what the intensity will be like.”
Captain Van Jaarsveld, who formerly turned out for the Pumas, said: “The team has more experience than at the start of the 2016 season and we have a lot of strong leaders in the team and I’m looking forward to see how the team has grown.”
Cheetahs:
Clayton Blommetjies, Sergeal Petersen, Nico Lee, Clinton Swart, Raymond Rhule, Fred Zeilinga, Tian Meyer, Paul Schoeman, Oupa Mohoje, Uzair Cassiem, Reniel Hugo, Justin Basson, Johan Coetzee, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Charles Marais. Replacements: Elandré Huggett, Danie Mienie, Ox Nche, Francois Uys, Niell Jordaan, Zee Mkhabela, Niel Marais, Ryno Benjamin