Coetzee at No 8 against Cheetahs

Bloemfontein - There are four South African-born players in Ulster’s match-day squad for Friday’s PRO14 clash against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Springbok loose forward Marcell Coetzee starts at No 8, while the other South Africans in the starting team are captain Rob Herring and former Sharks prop Wiehahn Herbst.

Another Springbok loose forward, Jean Deysel, features on the bench.

Altogether, the Irish side have made are six changes to their starting XV to the one which beat the Southern Kings 28-7 in Port Elizabeth last Sunday.

Ulster Academy players Eric O'Sullivan and Angus Kernohan are set to make their first starts after producing impressive performances off the bench in recent weeks.

The other newcomers to the team include Herbst, blindside flanker Matthew Rea, scrumhalf Dave Shanahan and fullback Will Addison, a late withdrawal from the team to face the Kings due to illness.

O'Sullivan and Herbst will pack down in the front row alongside skipper Herring, while Alan O'Connor and Kieran Treadwell are retained in the second row.

The selection of Rea sees a slight re-shuffle in the back row, with Coetzee moving to No 8, while Sean Reidy stays in the No 7 jersey.

Shanahan comes in at scrumhalf for John Cooney, who sustained a head injury in the win last week, and he will partner Billy Burns at halfback.

Wallabies centre Henry Speight shifts from the wing to centre to play alongside Stuart McCloskey, so Kernohan, who scored his first senior try last week, gets an opportunity from the start. Addison and Craig Gilroy complete the starting side.

Forwards Deysel, John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Tom O'Toole and Nick Timoney will hope to provide head coach Dan McFarland with plenty of impact off the bench.

Jonny Stewart will make his first appearance of the season if called upon, while fellow backs Angus Curtis and Darren Cave are also in the match-day 23.

Friday’s clash is scheduled for 19:15.

Teams:

Cheetahs

15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Gunther Janse van Vuuren, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Stephan Malan, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 Ryno Eksteen

Ulster

15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Henry Speight, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Angus Kernohan, 10 Billy Burns, 9 David Shanahan, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Eric O'Sullivan

Substitutes: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Tom O'Toole, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Darren Cave