The Toyota Cheetahs will be facing the Leopards at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday, 13 March at 18:30 in their first away game of the season.
The Toyota Cheetahs travel to Potchefstroom, where they will face the Leopards at Olen Park. Kick-off for Friday’s SA Cup clash is at 18:30 and marks the Toyota Cheetahs’ first away fixture of the season.
The Toyota Cheetahs are preparing for a challenging encounter following their opening-round defeat against the Boland Kavaliers. The team is determined to respond with an improved performance on the road.
Toyota Cheetahs forwards coach Tiaan Liebenberg acknowledged the disappointment of the result but remains confident in the team’s ability to improve.
“We are under no illusions about our performance in the first game. It hurt us, and it hurt that we disappointed our supporters with the way the game ended,” said Liebenberg. “We made some tactical adjustments at halftime, and I thought we produced a much better second half.”
Liebenberg, who previously played at Olen Park, emphasised the challenge of facing the Leopards on their home ground.
“I’ve played at Olen Park myself, and it’s a tough place to go. The Leopards will also want to redeem themselves, and a wounded team can be a dangerous one. We certainly won’t travel to Potchefstroom expecting an easy game.”
“Our focus this week is on ourselves. There are areas we need to fix and improve, and that is where our attention is. If we take care of those aspects, we will give ourselves a much better opportunity on Friday night.”
Coach Frans Steyn announced his team for the encounter with changes:
Toyota Cheetahs
- Tielman Nieuwoudt
- Marco Janse van Rensburg
- Aranos Coetzee
- Pieter Jansen van Vuren
- Victor Sekekete ( C)
- Ramon Uys
- Neels Volschenk
- Gideon van der Merwe
- Jandré Nel
- George Lourens
- Michael Annies
- Jooste Nel
- Munier Hartzenberg
- Cohen Jasper
- Clayton Blommetjies
- Juan Smal
- Frankie Dos Reis
- Ben Pitout
- Curtly Thomas
- Mihlali Mosi
- Marco Jansen van Vuren
- Banie Britz
- Ntokozo Makhaza
The referee for the match is Aimee Barrett-Theron.
The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury: James Verity-Amm (groin), Carl Wegner (concussion), Tebogo Nkosi (hand), Jaco van der Walt (hand), Tiaan Swanepoel (groin), Daniel Maartens (concussion), Sasko Ndlovu (shoulder), Pierre Uys (shoulder).