Milestone for Lee as Cheetahs name team to face Kings

Bloemfontein - Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has named his team for Friday night’s PRO14 encounter against the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.

ALSO READ: Kings ring changes for derby duel with Cheetahs

There are no changes to the starting XV that beat Italian side Zebre 27-12 on January 6, while on the bench scrumhalf Shaun Venter replaces Rudy Paige.

Centre Nico Lee will be earning his 50th cap for the Cheetahs. The 24-year-old represented the Cheetahs in 14 Super Rugby matches, 11 Currie Cup games (including the Currie Cup final in 2016) and 24 PRO14 matches and is a product of the Cheetah Academy.  

Captain Tian Meyer said they were relishing facing their compatriots.

"It's always going to be a big clash because it's a derby. Every year we play the Kings it's a big game. The team is ready for the fight, which is why we are preparing to put out our best performance."

Friday's clash at the at the Nelson Mandela University's Madibaz Stadium is scheduled for 19:00.

Teams:

Southern Kings

15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Tertius Kruger, 12 Berton Klaasen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Ntabeni Dukisa 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Henry Brown, 6 Cyril-John Velleman, 5 John-Charles Astle (captain), 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 Michael Willemse, 1 Schalk Ferreira

Substitutes: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Lumpumlo Mguca, 18 Rossouw de Klerk, 19 Andries van Schalkwyk, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Martin du Toit, 23 Harlon Klaasen

Cheetahs

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

Substitutes: 16 Marnus van der Merwe/Reinach Venter, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Walt Steenkamp, 21 Abongile Nonkontwana, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Louis Fouche