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Bloemfontein - The Cell C Sharks have always enjoyed travelling to Bloemfontein to face the Cheetahs, a team once deemed their Super Rugby bogey side.
And although three of their four wins over the Cell C Sharks were achieved in Durban, the men from Bloemfontein have lost their last three home matches against the KwaZulu-Natalians who have an overall record at the Free State Stadium of four from five.
Jake White’s team will know that nothing else but a victory will suffice in Bloemfontein, if they are to remain in the top two and automatically qualify for a home semi-final.
But the Sharks will not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents based on their position on the log.
The Cheetahs have eight current Springboks in their team and will be keen to finish a disappointing season on a high.
"We are playing at home, so it’s very important for us to get a win for our fans," said Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské.
"All the pressure will be on the Sharks.
"They want to secure a home semi-final and need to win their next two games, but we’ve already seen this year that anything can happen in South African derbies.
"The Sharks’ pack is big and physical, so if we want to win, we will need to take them on upfront."
White said his team has taken notice of the Cheetahs’ home record.
"They have knocked over some good sides at home and despite all the Springbok players they have from the weekend, it’s not really about the players they have in their roster, they’re a good team," said White.
"We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves properly.
"We have a good away record, probably better than our home record this year strangely enough, although it’s not something we are really concentrating on or giving too much attention to.
"We just want to make sure we win."
Kick-off for Saturday's clash at the Free State Stadium is scheduled for 19:10.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Coenie Ootshuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Caylib Oosthuizen, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Hennie Daniller
Sharks:
15. SP Marais, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Tim Swiel, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel (captain), 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Anton Bresler, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16. Thomas du Toit, 17. Bismarck du Plessis, 18. Jannie du Plessis, 19. Willem Alberts, 20. Tera Mtembu, 21. Charl McLeod, 22. Odwa Ndungane, 23. Tonderai Chavhanga
And although three of their four wins over the Cell C Sharks were achieved in Durban, the men from Bloemfontein have lost their last three home matches against the KwaZulu-Natalians who have an overall record at the Free State Stadium of four from five.
Jake White’s team will know that nothing else but a victory will suffice in Bloemfontein, if they are to remain in the top two and automatically qualify for a home semi-final.
But the Sharks will not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents based on their position on the log.
The Cheetahs have eight current Springboks in their team and will be keen to finish a disappointing season on a high.
"We are playing at home, so it’s very important for us to get a win for our fans," said Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské.
"All the pressure will be on the Sharks.
"They want to secure a home semi-final and need to win their next two games, but we’ve already seen this year that anything can happen in South African derbies.
"The Sharks’ pack is big and physical, so if we want to win, we will need to take them on upfront."
White said his team has taken notice of the Cheetahs’ home record.
"They have knocked over some good sides at home and despite all the Springbok players they have from the weekend, it’s not really about the players they have in their roster, they’re a good team," said White.
"We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves properly.
"We have a good away record, probably better than our home record this year strangely enough, although it’s not something we are really concentrating on or giving too much attention to.
"We just want to make sure we win."
Kick-off for Saturday's clash at the Free State Stadium is scheduled for 19:10.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Coenie Ootshuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Caylib Oosthuizen, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Hennie Daniller
Sharks:
15. SP Marais, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. S’bura Sithole, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Tim Swiel, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Jean Deysel (captain), 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Anton Bresler, 4. Stephan Lewies, 3. Lourens Adriaanse, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16. Thomas du Toit, 17. Bismarck du Plessis, 18. Jannie du Plessis, 19. Willem Alberts, 20. Tera Mtembu, 21. Charl McLeod, 22. Odwa Ndungane, 23. Tonderai Chavhanga
