Cheetahs forced into mass backline changes

Cape Town - Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan has named his team for Saturday’s PRO14 encounter against Connacht in Galway, Ireland.

Duncan made a few changes from the team that beat Zebre 24-23 in Italy last weekend.

Fred Zeilinga will be starting in his first PRO14 match, replacing Sergeal Petersen at fullback, while Luther Obi replaces Raymond Rhule at right wing.  

Petersen and Rhule’s contracts with the Cheetahs ended in October and both players joined their new franchise, the Stormers, in Cape Town this week.
 
There’s also a new centre pairing, with PRO14 debutant Tertius Kruger and Nico Lee replacing Francois Venter and William Small-Smith, respectively.

Venter has been called up to the Springbok squad, while Small-Smith sustained a shoulder injury against Zebre. 

Up front, Johan Coetzee replaces Tom Botha at tighthead prop, while Carl Wegner replaces Rynier Bernardo at lock.

Oupa Mohoje has been called up for Springbok duty, so Junior Pokomela moves from flank to No 8, with Jasper Wiese making his PRO14 debut at No 7.

Hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld takes over the captaincy from Venter.

Kick-off for Saturday's clash at the at the Sportsground is scheduled for 21:35 (SA time).

Teams:

Connacht

15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Darragh Leader, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Niyi Adeolokun, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 John Muldoon (captain), 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 James Cannon, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley

Substitutes: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Denis Coulson, 18 Conor Carey, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Naulia Dawai, 21 Conor McKeon, 22 Steve Crosbie, 23 Matt Healy

Cheetahs

15 Fred Zeilinga, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Junior Pokomela, 7 Jasper Wiese, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Ox Nche
     
Substitutes: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Dennis Visser, 20 Rynier Bernardo, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Shaun Venter