Cheetahs chasing victory in Kimberley

The Toyota Cheetahs are travelling to Kimberley on Saturday to face the Suzuki Griquas in the final round of SA Cup fixtures.

The Cheetahs, Griquas and the Airlink Pumas have already punched their tickets for the semi-finals - but the final spot is still up for grabs.

The Sanlam Boland Kavaliers (27 points), NovaVit Griffons (26) and the Valke (25) are locked in a fierce battle, each determined to seize their moment and keep their title hopes alive.

The teams that manage to end in the top four positions after this weekend’s ninth round qualify for the forthcoming Carling Currie Cup Premier Division, while the rest will battle each other in the First Division.

The match at the Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley kicks off at 3pm and will be streamed live onto DSTV OTT channel 950 (app and website).

The referee for the match is Morne Ferreira.

The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: Gideon van der Merwe (ankle), Ethan Wentzel (back), Munier Hartzenberg (hamstring), Andell Loubser (hip), Litha Nkula (thigh), Clayton Blommetjies (calf), Carl Wegner (hamstring) and Ali Mgijimia (groin).

Director of Rugby and Head Coach of the Toyota Cheetahs, Frans Steyn, announced his team with several changes from last week’s massive victory over the Border Bulldogs.

Toyota Cheetahs starting XV: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 12 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 11 Cohen Jasper; 10 George Lourens, 9 Jandre Nel; 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Gideon van der Merwe; 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren; 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen (capt), 1 Hencus van Wyk. Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Sisonke Vumazonke, 20 Neels Volschenk, 21 Tiaan Swanepoel, 22 Rewan Kruger, 23 Franco Smith.