Marais back at flyhalf for crucial Cheetahs clash

Bloemfontein - Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan has named his side for Saturday's PRO14 clash against the Cardiff Blues in Bloemfontein. 

It is a crucial match for the Cheetahs, who lead the Blues by 5 points in their Conference as the race for the play-off places intensifies. 

The two top teams in each pool automatically go through to the semi-final of the PRO14 Final Series, whilst the second and third teams in the pool will play in a Semi-Final Qualifier. 

In Pool A, Glasgow Warriors secured their place as number one whilst Munster is currently on 58 points in second place with the Cheetahs in third position on 52 and Cardiff Blues with 47 points in fourth position. 

Kick-off is at 15:00 on Saturday.

In their previous encounter, Cardiff Blues beat the Cheetahs 25-20 at Arms Park in round 14. 

In the most significant changes to his team, Duncan has named Niel Marais at flyhalf while Clinton Swart goes back to inside centre.

“The players understand the importance of this game and have prepared as best possible. Cardiff Blues is a decent outfit and we are in for a tough battle,” said Duncan.

Teams:

Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 AJ Coertzen

Cardiff

TBA