Toyota Cheetah team to face Leinster

Feb 28 • General News, Guinness Pro14 • 2235 Views • Comments Off on Toyota Cheetah team to face Leinster

The Toyota Cheetahs and Leinster will be meeting on Friday evening at the RDS Arena in Dublin, in the last match of their three week tour. The action kicks off at 21:35 SA time with live broadcast on SuperSport 1.

Leinster have been in sublime form this season with 14 victories in 16 pool matches, and 11 bonus points for tries, and they will look to continue this form against the Toyota Cheetahs, who need to return to their winning ways to remain within striking range of their rivals for a Guinness Pro14 playoff spot. The sides meet in Dublin on Friday.

The Toyota Cheetahs will have to be sharp on attack and defence from the outset, as Leinster are the only team to have scored more than 500 points this season, while they conceded 207 points – only seven more than Munster, who boast the best defensive record in the competition.

With five pool games remaining – including this match – for the Toyota Cheetahs to force their way into the top three in Conference A for a playoff spot, and the team already trailing their pool contenders, the Cardiff Blues and Munster, by six points, they will enter the clash under pressure to register a victory to avoid slipping too far behind as the pool stages draw to a close.

With the Toyota Cheetahs’ Rabz Maxwane and Shaun Venter being among the top try scorers in the competition, and Tian Schoeman fifth on the list of top points scorers, however, Leinster will be wary of the threat the visitors pose.

The teams have crossed paths only once before in the competition in 2017, with the Toyota Cheetahs winning that encounter 38-19 in Bloemfontein.

Coach Franco Smith has announced his team for the clash with only two changes:

· Reinach Venter will be the starting hooker, with Marnus van der Merwe providing cover on the bench.

· Gerhard Oliver, Abongile Nonkontwana and Junior Pokomela switch places.

· Tian Meyer will be leading the team onto the field, with Shaun Venter providing cover on the bench.

· Charles Marais returns to play after suffering from food poisoning.

The following players are not eligible for team selection due to injury:

Oupa Mohoje (knee), Jamba Ulenga (neck), Joseph Dweba (hamstring), Malcolm Jaer (knee), Aidon Davis (broken leg).

The Toyota Cheetahs will be back in Bloemfontein on Sunday, 3 March. The next match is on Saturday, 23 March against Glasgow Warriors in Scotland.

Leinster Rugby vs Toyota Cheetahs

RDS Arena, Dublin

1. Ox Nche (37)

2. Reinach Venter (7)

3. Aranos Coetzee (38)

4. Walt Steenkamp (15)

5. JP du Preez (15)

6. Gerhard Olivier (16)

7. Abongile Nonkontwana (11)

8. Junior Pokomela (27)

9. Tian Meyer (26)(C)

10. Tian Schoeman (16)

11. Rabz Maxwane (14)

12. Dries Swanepoel (3)

13. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (15)

14. William Small-Smith (31)

15. Louis Fouche (10)

16. Jacques du Toit (25)

17. Charles Marais (35)

18. Luan de Bruin (8)

19. Sintu Manjezi (9)

20. Marnus van der Merwe (4)

21. Henco Venter (19)

22. Rudy Paige (6)

23. Shaun Venter (31)

· Guinness PRO14 caps indicated next the player’s name.

The referee for the match is Nigel Owens (WRU, 174^th competition game). He will be assisted by Frank Murphy (IRFU), Wayne Davies (WRU) The TMO is Colin Stanley (IRFU).