Bloemfontein - Raymond Rhule will start at fullback for the Free State Cheetahs in their crucial Currie Cup clash against the Golden Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The Cheetahs are currently third on the log, and a victory would guarantee them a spot in the semi-finals.
Rhule's inclusion as the last line of defence is an interesting one given his well-documented defensive struggles against the All Blacks in South Africa's 57-0 loss to New Zealand in the Rugby Championship this year.
The in-form Makazole Mapimpi, meanwhile, will start on the left wing after having had an extended run with the Cheetahs PRO14 team.
“This is an extremely important game for the Free State Cheetahs. We will be pushing as hard as we can to get results,” said coach Rory Duncan.
Kick-off on Saturday will be at 17:15.
Teams:
Golden Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 13 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Len Massyn, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Jacques van Rooyen (captain)
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Rhyno Herbst, 19 Robert Kruger/Hacjivah Dayimani, 20 Marco Jansen van Vuren 21 Ashlon Davids, 22 Sylvian Mahuza
FS Cheetahs
15 Raymond Rhule, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 Nico Lee, 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Oupa Mohoje, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Charles Marais
Substitutes: 16 Ox Nche, 17 Jacques du Toit, 18 Rynier Bernardo, 19 Junior Pokomela, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Ali Mgijima, 22 Luther Obi