Durban - The experienced Robert Ebersohn replaces injured veteran Frans Steyn in the Cheetahs team to play Toulon in the Challenge Cup on Saturday at 1.30pm.
Steyn was recently injured playing in the Currie Cup against the Bulls and he is reportedly in danger of missing September’s World Cup because he is to undergo surgery on the knee problem.
While the Currie Cup has cost the Cheetahs a star player, coach Hawies Fourie says the domestic competition has been a vital warm-up for the European stage.
“The three weeks of Currie Cup were important to give all the players game time and to select the right players for this match,” said Fourie.
“We’ll definitely miss a valuable player and kicker like Frans Steyn. Still, we’ve planned accordingly, and the responsible players have done it before and have the confidence to do what is required.”
“We are used to playing away in this competition (the Cheetahs had to play all of their home games in Europe) and adapting to the conditions quickly. It is still cold here, but the forecast for Saturday is for no rain, but strong winds are expected. We’ll have to adapt and adjust quickly on Saturday.
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“Toulon has a quality team, and it will be a big ask and much tougher than the previous rounds. We expect to play against their best side. We’ve braced ourselves for that and have to play confidently and believe in what we do.”
Cheetahs team for Toulon: 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 David Brits 12 Robert Ebersohn, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Jeandré Rudolph 7 Oupa Mohoje 6 Gideon van der Merwe 5 Victor Sekekete (Captain) 4 Rynier Bernardo 3 Hencus van Wyk 2 Marnus van der Merwe 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Substitutes: Marko Janse van Rensburg, Alulutho Tshakweni, Conraad van Vuuren, Mzwanele Zito, Siba Qoma, Daniel Maartens, Rewan Kruger, Cohen Jasper
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