Marcel van der Merwe set to make Super Rugby debut
21 year-old prop Marcel van der Merwe. Photo by Denese Lups /Rugby15.
Morgan Piek – Marcel van der Merwe is set to make his long awaited Super Rugby debut this coming weekend when the Toyota Cheetahs face-off against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. The bullish prop comes in at tighthead as cover for the injured Coenie Oosthuizen. Oosthuizen picked up an injury in Durban on his Springbok debut against the English.
Marcell van der Merwe made a huge impact at the Cheetahs during the 2011 Currie Cup season and many considered him very unlucky not to have made the 2012 Toyota Cheetahs Super Rugby squad. Weighing in at 120kgs Marcel van der Merwe will give the Bulls a good go for their money this coming weekend. Granted that Currie Cup is not on the same level as Super Rugby, however, Van der Merwe certainly packs a punch in both the scrums and with ball carries.
Another 2011 Currie Cup sensation Lappies Labuschagné will be making his eagerly awaited Super Rugby debut against the Bulls as well. The former Grey College loose forward quickly became a household name in the Free State last year with his try scoring and game winning ability. One of the most exciting youngsters to come out of South Africa in recent years, his inclusion in the Cheetahs squad is only to their benefit.
Willie le Roux moves to fullback in the place of Hennie Daniller who broke his thumb in the Cheetahs final match before the Test Match break. Le Roux was originally pulled into the squad as a fullback, so he should have no trouble slotting into the number 15 jersey.
In many regards the Toyota Cheetahs benefitted a lot from not having too many players involved in the Castle Incoming Tour again England this past month. The Cheetahs should be well rested ahead of Saturdays clash. The same however cannot be said for the Pretoria based franchise. Many of their star players we used during the test series and they could be in for a very tough afternoon against the Bloemfontein side. The Bulls are expected to win this one; however, if they do it will not be a walk in the park by any means.
Regardless of who wins on Saturday, one this is for sure – Toyota Cheetahs vs. Vodacom Bulls is always a thrilling encounter.
The Toyota Cheetahs team is as follows:
15. Willie le Roux, 14. Philip Snyman, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Andries Strauss (Vice captain), 11. Rocco Jansen, 10. Riaan Smit, 9. Piet van Zyl, 8. Ashley Johnson, 7. Lappies Labuschagné, 6. Heinrich Brüssow, 5. Izak van der Westhuizen, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Marcel van der Merwe, 2. Adriaan Strauss (Captain), 1. Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements:
16. Hercu Liebenberg, 17. WP Nel, 18. George Earle, 19. Justin Downey, 20. Tewis de Bruyn, 21. Sias Ebersohn, 22. Nico Scheepers.
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