Cheetahs sweat over Coenie

Bloemfontein - The Cheetahs will give fullback Hennie Daniller and Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen until Friday to prove their fitness for Saturday's Super Rugby encounter against the Blues in Bloemfontein.

Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské announced an unchanged side for the clash against the Blues on Saturday afternoon in the Free State Stadium, but indicated both Daniller and Oosthuizen's inclusion was pending results of a fitness test undertaken the day before the game.

Daniller injured his knee in the captains run last week Friday before the Cheetahs game against the Stormers and was still doubtful for the all important clash against the New Zealand-based side.

The same goes for Oosthuizen, who got a knock on the knee in the Cheetahs' 28-3 drubbing against the Cape Town-based outfit.

The hosts need five points against the Blues if they are to be sure of a place in the knock out stages and therefore it is understandable that Drotské will give his stalwarts as much time as possible to prove their availability.

Should Daniller not be eligible, Springbok fullback Willie le Roux will again move from wing into the No 15 jumper like he did against the Stormers, while Rayno Benjamin gets a promotion to the starting line-up.

If Oosthuizen does not make the cut, he will be replaced by another Springbok in the form of Trevor Nyakane.

But Drotské would hope for a speedy recovery for the burly prop, especially after the Cheetahs were trounced by the Stormers in the scrums.

"Our scrums are one facet that we've worked on really hard this week," said Cheetahs captain and Springbok hooker Adriaan Strauss.

"We made a couple of early engages against the Stormers and that took away our momentum.

"We have to be at our best against the Blues," said Drotské.

Teams:

Cheetahs:

15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Riaan Smit, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Ligtoring Landman, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.

Substitutes: 16 Ryno Barnes, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Waltie Vermeulen, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Elgar Watts, 22 Rayno Benjamin

Blues:

TBA