Clayton Blommetjies of the Free State Cheetahs celebrates with his team mates after scoring his try during the 2019 Currie Cup Rugby Final match between Toyota Free State Cheetahs and The Xerox Golden Lions at Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein on 07 September 2019.
©Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix
Cheetahs vs Bulls: Super Rugby Unlocked preview and kick-off time
It’s the Cheetahs vs Bulls first up on week two of Super Rugby Unlocked, with teh aaction kicking off on Friday night.
Clayton Blommetjies of the Free State Cheetahs celebrates with his team mates after scoring his try during the 2019 Currie Cup Rugby Final match between Toyota Free State Cheetahs and The Xerox Golden Lions at Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein on 07 September 2019.
©Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix
It promises to be a brusing encounter in Bloemfontein, where the Cheetahs host the Bulls in the first of Super Rugby Unlocked matchday 2 fixtures.
Cheetahs vs Bulls: Super Rugby Unlocked preview
The clash will see a battle of contrasting styles of play, based on how the two teams fared in the opening weekend, where the Cheetahs scored fluently to put away the Pumas, while the Bulls staggered along before eventually securing victory over the Griquas.
However, with five changes made, World Cup-winning former Bok coach Jake White will hope for more enterprise from the men from Tshwane.
The biggest change in the line up sees the return of skipper Duane Vermeulen, who sat out the Griquas match with Arno Botha taking over the captaincy duties.
Also coming in is debutant Clinton Swart, who takes up a spot in the midfield, while Bok sccrumhalf Embrose Papier starts in place of Ivan van Zyl.
No changes have been made to the Cheetahs team that routed the Pumas at the same venue, with fullback Clayton Blommetjies reaching a milestone 100th top-level appearance.
Kick-off time and where to watch
The match will kick off at 19:00, and will be screened on Supersport 1.
Cheetahs vs Bulls teams
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar (c), 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais.
Subs: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Chris Massyn, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 William Small-Smith.
Bulls – 15 Gio Aplon, 14 David Kriel, 13 Cornal Hendricks, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Arno Botha, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Stedman Gans.
