Cell C Sharks to play Free State Cheetahs

Aug 30 • Currie Cup, General News • 1385 Views • Comments Off on Cell C Sharks to play Free State Cheetahs

Date	Saturday, 1 September 2018
Kickoff	14h10
Venue	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee	Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referee	Ben Crouse, Divan Uys
Television Match Official	Lourens van der Merwe

The Cell C Sharks travel to Bloemfontein for our week two Currie Cup clash against Free State knowing that a good performance to back up last week’s win against the Blue Bulls is paramount.

“It was a good start, we knew the Bulls would be tough and they didn’t disappoint, but to get our season off to a winning start against a very good Bulls side is really pleasing for us,” explains Cell C Sharks fullback Curwin Bosch.

“Now that we’ve gained a bit of momentum, it’s all about consistency; about stepping up each week.”

With a backline that loves nothing better than playing exciting, attacking rugby, one filled with X-Factor players, they will relish any opportunity to turn possession into points this weekend.

“We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on turning our defence into attack, we did that against the Bulls, and together with the work ethic of our forwards, we can achieve that,” he explains.

“Coach Dick [Muir] has been helping there and we have been working hard on our attack. I think we can still improve and it’s something that will grow as the season progresses.”

Looking at the Free State challenge, he admits that the focus won’t be so much on the opposition or the strength of their side given that the Cheetahs also have Pro 14 commitments, but rather on themselves.

“There’s always a possibility of them fielding a potentially weaker side because of their Pro 14 commitments, but we are well aware of the importance of achieving what we want to in this competition. It’s very short and there isn’t time to drop off after one good performance, so we need to keep focused on what we want to do and achieve.”

Head coach Robert du Preez has stuck with the same starting XV this week. There is one change amongst the replacements, with Tera Mtembu unfortunately picking up a knee injury (meniscus tear) in the last match. His place on the bench has been taken by Luke Stringer.

Cell C Sharks
15. Curwin Bosch
14. Kobus van Wyk
13. Jeremy Ward
12. Marius Louw
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Robert du Preez
9. Louis Schreuder
8. Daniel du Preez
7. Tyler Paul
6. Wian Vosloo
5. Hyron Andrews
4. Gideon Koegelenberg
3. John-Hubert Meyer
2. Chiliboy Ralepelle (c)
1. Juan Schoeman