Bloemfontein - Captain Francois Venter will be running onto the field in his 50th Super Rugby match against the Crusaders on Saturday.
Venter embarked upon his fourth campaign with the Cheetahs in 2017 after transferring from the Bulls following the 2013 Super Rugby season and was a member of the South African U-20 team that competed in the 2010 and 2011 Junior World Championships.
He made his Super Rugby debut for the Cheetahs against the Lions on February 15, 2014 in Bloemfontein and in 2015 he played in all 16 Super Rugby matches, captaining the Cheetahs.
Compact in execution with a very low error rate and an uncanny ability to take the right option, Venter’s speed of the mark, running angles and uncompromising defence makes him one of the most highly-rated midfielders in the country.
His hard work paid off and he was rewarded by being included in the end of year European tour where he made his Springbok debut against England on November 12 last year at Twickenham, before playing in two other matches for the national side.
Teams:
Cheetahs
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Nico Lee, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche
Substitutes: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Niell Jordaan/William Small-Smith, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Clinton Swart
Crusaders
15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Substitutes: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Luke Romano,20 Pete Samu, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Manasa Mataele