Rugby
Torsten to lead Cheetahs in Tokyo─── MORGAN PIEK 11:00 Thu, 25 May 2017
Torsten van Jaarsveld to will lead the Toyota Cheetahs onto the park on Saturday when they tackle the Sunwolves in Tokyo.
The regular skipper, Francois Venter, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and this sees William Small-Smith slotting into the starting XV at outside centre.
Van Jaarsveld himself returns to the run-on side after playing off the bench during the sides’ 61-7 drubbing at the hands of the Hurricanes in Wellington.
Furthermore, Niel Marais, has been named to play at flyhalf with Fred Zeilinga being named of the bench.
Zeilinga and Tian Meyer are the only two backs on the bench with the coach Franco Smith opting to go with a 5/2 spilt among the replacements.
Junior Pokomela will get another crack at Super Rugby after being named on the bench as well.
Pokomela linked up with the team in New Zealand after flying in as cover for Tier Schoeman who developed a thrombosis during the long flight to the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Marais told OFM Sport that they see the game against the tricky Japanese outfit as an opportunity to hit the reset button.
“It’s going to be good. We’ve got a lot of respect for them.
“It was a very tough and hard fought game when we played them back in Bloemfontein, so we know that they are definitely not just going to roll over and let us beat them.
“It’s defiantly a big opportunity for us and the guys see it as somewhere we can get a win and take that momentum into the two remaining games which are both against South African sides.
“The vibe in the team is still very good. The guys have to be commended for the way they have been training and have been going about their business.
“I hasn’t been an easy campaign, but everyone is still doing their part.
“It’s going to be an awesome experience and hopefully we can return from the tour with a win.”
Saturday’s match at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo kicks off at 7:15am.
Toyota Cheetahs - 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements – 16 Elandré Huggett, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Junior Pokomela, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga.
Morgan Piek OFM Sport