They are sweating over the availability of the two loosehead props, Ox Nche, who is suffering with a knee injury, and Charles Marais, who sustained food poisoning on the flight to Ireland.

Furthermore, the wait continues for the exciting fullback, Tapiwa Mafura, who is still stranded in South Africa after visas issues led to the player being unable to board the flight with the rest of the team to Ireland last week.

Mafura does have a British visa, however, needs a Schengen visa in order to join his teammates in the Welsh capital city. With the clock tickling, it may be a case of the Louis Fouché manning the last line of defence again for the Cheetahs this week.

Meanwhile, the vibe in the game is still upbeat despite Saturday’s 25-17 defeat to Connacht in Galway.

The Cheetahs winger, William Small-Smith, says they are close to beating the biggest team abroad.

“I think that will would have learnt a lot from the game. Probably the biggest thing that we would have taken away from the game is that we can compete with the best in Ireland or away were in Europe of that matter.

“In Bloemfontein, we definitely have the self-belief that we can beat any team, and the game against Connacht shows that we can come close to beating any team overseas as well.

“We take a lot of confidence from the game against Connacht, and hopefully we can take two wins against Scarlets and Leinster.”

Sunday’s game between the Scarlets and Cheetahs at Parc y Scarlets kicks off at 15:00.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport