Zeilinga new Cheetahs flyhalf for Reds clash
Toyota Cheetahs flyhalf Fred Zeilinga has replaced Niel Marias for the Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Reds at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday with kick-off at 11.45pm (SA time).
In other changes to the team, No 4 lock Carl Wegner is back in the starting line-up and Francois Uys on the bench. Springbok Lood de Jager moves to No 5 lock.
Paul Schoeman shifts from No 8 to openside flank in the place of Hilton Lobberts who returned home because of a shoulder injury he picked up last weekend against the Rebels.
The move of Schoeman to the side of the scrum means an opening for Henco Venter, who will be wearing the No 8 jersey. Johan Coetzee and Michael van der Spuy are new on the bench with Danie Mienie also returning home with a shoulder injury.
The Reds has named an unchanged side for the match. They have won five of their last six matches against the Bloemfontein outfit, outscoring the South African side by 70 points across that span.
The Cheetahs have won just one of their last six matches in Australia, and they’ve never beaten the Reds there. One statistic the Cheetahs will be aware of is that the Reds have a scrum success of 95% so far this season, the best by any team.
Said Reds co-interim head coach Nick Stiles: “The Cheetahs are a good side and we’ve had some close matches with them in recent years. The group’s sole focus this week has been on preparing well to deliver a performance we, and our fans, can be proud of.”
Teams: Reds: 15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Junior Laloifi, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Anthony Fainga’a, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Curtis Browning, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Ben Matwijow, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Andrew Ready, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Sef Fa’agase, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Cadeyrn Neville, 20 Michael Gunn, 21 James Tuttle, 22 Duncan Paia’aua, 23 Ayumu Goromaru.
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Francois Venter (captain), 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais. Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Michael van der Spuy.