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Cheetahs don't fear Newlands

Cape Town - Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie says his players are not at all daunted by facing Western Province at Newlands.

While they may struggle there during Super Rugby, the men from Bloemfontein have a good track record at the ground in the Currie Cup, having won two of their last three encounters.

Fourie said while they respect WP, they enjoy playing in Cape Town.

"In the Currie Cup competition we normally do well there, so there's no mental block about the venue," Fourie told the Rugby365 website.

"However, we do know that we will have to be at our very best if we want to win this weekend.

"We do back ourselves to win at Newlands, as it is something we achieve often, but we do have respect for them and the players in their squad."

Fourie also said they expect a backlash from the home side, after WP surprisingly drew 24-all to a young Blue Bulls side last week.

"My expectations were that WP would beat the Bulls relatively easily, given the number of players the Bulls lost (to Bok call-ups and departures abroad).

"That last try the Bulls scored would have angered Province a little, so there would have been some harsh words spoken this week and they will come out all guns blazing," continued Fourie.

The clash kicks off at 19:15 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, coach Naka Drotské has named his team for the clash. 

The only change in the team from last week is Willie du Plessis replacing Joubert Engelbrecht on the bench.               

Teams:

Western Province

15. Gio Aplon, 14. Gerhard van den Heever, 13. Pat Howard, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Cheslin Kolbe, 10. Gary van Aswegen, 9. Louis Schreuder, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Rynhardt Elstadt, 6. Deon Fourie (captain), 5. De Kock Steenkamp, 4. Michael Rhodes, 3. Brok Harris, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16. Tiaan Liebenberg, 17. Pat Cilliers, 18. Gerbrandt Grobler, 19. Rohan Kitshoff, 20. Nic Groom, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Ryan Nell

Free State Cheetahs

15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Riaan Smit, 13. Johann Sadie, 12. Robert Ebersohn, 11. Raymond Rhule, 10. Elgar Watts, 9. Sarel Pretorius, 8. Philip van der Walt, 7. Pieter Labuschagne, 6. Boom Prinsloo (captain), 5. Waltie Vermeulen, 4. Lodewyk de Jager, 3. John-Roy Jenkinson, 2. Hercu Liebenberg, 1. Caylib Oosthuizen    
 
Substitutes: 16. Ethienne Reynecke, 17. Wian du Preez, 18. Teboho Mohoje, 19. Davon Raubenheimer, 20. Piet van Zyl, 21. Willie du Plessis, 22. Piet Lindeque    

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