The Toyota Cheetahs are braced for their first match in Australia in more than six years when they tackle the Western Force on Friday, in the third game of the Toyota Challenge.
The Cheetahs flew out to Perth on Monday and they arrived in the Western Australia city late on Tuesday. They have played against Southern Hemisphere opposition abroad since being booted out of the Super Rugby in 2017 and this prompted the team from Bloemfontein to set the tone for South African teams to find a new home in Europe, however, sadly this didn’t last too long either.
Like the Cheetahs, the Force were in the same boat and for the past several years they too had to look for new competitions to play in.
On Friday, the Cheetahs have the opportunity to clinch the four-match series after claiming 31-27 and 27-12 wins in Bloemfontein. The Force will, however, be a different kettle of fish to contend with at home and they have more first-choice players available for the double-header.
The Cheetahs did make a late change to their touring squad with the centre Evardi Boshoff being drafted at the expense of David Brits, who has linked up with the Springboks Sevens.
Boshoff has recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained during the first match against the Force in Bloemfontein.
The Cheetahs do have the challenge of travelling and a very short turnaround to deal with and last week there was a lot of emphasis on getting as much training done as humanly possible.
Ahead of their departure, the Cheetahs’ forwards coach, Izak van der Westhuizen, told Bloemfontein Courant that they will be ready to hit the ground running when they arrive.
“It’s a very short turnaround, but I think the guys understand what lies ahead as we know that it’s going to be tough,” said the former Cheetahs and Edinburgh lock.
“We’ve got recovery protocols and all of those things ready and in place, so hopefully we can make the best of it.
“We’ve practised everything that we want to do and it’s all set. If we were to play today, we would be ready. In Perth we’re going to have a light activity on Wednesday, the captain’s run on Thursday, and then play on Friday.”
During the two games in Bloemfontein, the Cheetahs used two different teams for the games with only the fullback Tapiwa Mafura starting in both matches. This was to fine-tune the touring squad. In Perth, it is expected that the Cheetahs will pick their strongest available team as the matches are being used to prepare for their upcoming European Challenge Cup campaign.
Players such as Daniel Kasende and Reinhardt Fortuin are fit and available for selection after missing out on the home games because of injury.
Friday’s match between the Force and Cheetahs and the Lane Group Stadium in Mandurah kicks off at 13:00. Next Saturday’s game at the Revo Fitness Stadium in Claremont kicks off at 09:00.
Western Force – TBA
Cheetahs – 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Friedle Olivier, 7 Sibabalo Qoma, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Laurence Victor, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira
Replacements – 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Jeandré Rudolph, 22 Raegan Oranje, 23 George Lourens – MORGAN PIEK
