Cheetahs chasing victory at 'tough' Olen Park against Leopards

The Toyota Cheetahs will be facing the Leopards at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday at 6.30pm in their first away game of the SA Cup season.

The Cheetahs are preparing for a challenging encounter following their opening-round defeat against the Boland Kavaliers. The team is determined to respond with an improved performance on the road.

Forwards coach Tiaan Liebenberg acknowledged the disappointment of the result but remains confident in the team’s ability to improve.

“We are under no illusions about our performance in the first game. It hurt us and it hurt that we disappointed our supporters with the way the game ended,” said Liebenberg. “We made some tactical adjustments at halftime, and I thought we produced a much better second half.”

Liebenberg, who previously played at Olen Park, emphasised the challenge of facing the Leopards on their home ground.

“I’ve played at Olen Park myself and it’s a tough place to go. The Leopards will also want to redeem themselves and a wounded team can be a dangerous one. We certainly won’t travel to Potchefstroom expecting an easy game.

“Our focus this week is on ourselves. There are areas we need to fix and improve, and that is where our attention is. If we take care of those aspects, we will give ourselves a much better opportunity on Friday.”

Toyota Cheetahs starting XV: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Jooste Nel, 11 Michael Annies; 10 George Lourens, 9 Jandré Nel; 8 Gideon van der Merwe, 7 Neels Volschenk, 6 Ramon Uys; 5 Victor Sekekete (capt), 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren; 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marco Janse van Rensburg, 1 Tielman Nieuwoudt. Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Frankie Dos Reis, 18 Ben Pitout, 19 Curtly Thomas, 20 Mihlali Mosi, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 Banie Britz, 23 Ntokozo Makhaza.

Leopards v Toyota Cheetahs - Friday @ Olën Park, Potchefstroom (6.30pm)

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron

Airlink Pumas v Eastern Province - Friday @ Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit (7pm)

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

TV: SuperSport