All the Cheetahs in the hunt
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:19
Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské has named his best available team, including flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter and lock David de Villiers, for the Currie Cup semifinal showdown with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.
Potgieter, who told rugby365.com that the hand injury he suffered against the Boland Cavaliers last week will not keep him out of the team, has trained without any discomfort on Tuesday.
However, there remains doubt over the fitness of De Villiers, who injured his ankle in the 50-40 win over the Cavaliers, even though he has been named in the starting XV.
Drotské said he will give the line-outs star till Friday to prove his fitness.
Flip van der Merwe has been placed on standby and will make the trip to Pretoria, where De Villiers will undergo a fitness test during the captain's run.
Van der Merwe could come in on the bench and Nico Breedt, who replaced De Villiers last week, will start if the latter is ruled out.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 JW Jonker, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Jandré Blom, 21 Hennie Daniller, 22 Kabamba Floors.
Date: Saturday, October 11
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Touch judges: Deon van Blommestein, Joey Salmans
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
