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Cape Town - Former Springbok flank Jean Deysel says Ulster expect a stern test from the Cheetahs in their PRO14 opener in Belfast on Friday night.
Deysel, the former Sharks loosie who recently joined Ulster from fellow Irish club Munster, is one of six South African-born players in the Ulster starting line-up.
The others are former Lions and Sharks fullback/wing Louis Ludik, ex-Sharks tighthead prop Wiehahn Herbst, former Stormers/WP loose forward Robbie Diack, Springbok flank Marcell Coetzee and the Cape Town-born, SACS-educated hooker Rob Herring.
Deysel, who played four Tests for the Springboks between 2009 and 2011, spoke to Irish website independent.ie before Friday match.
He said the fact that the Cheetahs have played a lot of rugby in recent times will make them tough customers.
"They're mid-season back home, so it's definitely a tough one," Deysel said.
"They've played a few games, they're top of the log in the Currie Cup home so it's a tough one. But it's a great start for us. We're hungry to go and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to getting going in a new competition.
"They're a brilliant side, sometimes you don't know what you're getting because they have such good individuals. They're well gelled. They'll come here with a great unity."
Friday’s clash at Kingspan Stadium is scheduled for 20:35 (SA time).
Teams:
Ulster
15 Charles Piutau, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Tommy Bowe, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Chris Henry (captain), 6 Jean Deysel, 5 Alan O’Connor, 4 Robbie Diack, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Kyle McCall
Substitutes: 16 John Andrew, 17 Callum Black, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Matthew Rea, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 David Shanahan, 21 Peter Nelson, 22 Darren Cave
Cheetahs
15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Rosko Specman, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Clayton Blommetjies, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan (captain), 7 Henco Venter, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Charles Marais
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Cecil Afrika, 23 Rayno Benjamin
