Chiefs rejig for Cheetahs clash

Cape Town - The Chiefs will be determined to finish their South African tour on a winning note when they take on the Cheetahs on Saturday in Bloemfontein.

Kick-off is at 15:05.

Co-captain Sam Cane is fully recovered from the concussion he sustained in his side's game against the Bulls two weeks ago and will start at openside flank. 

Cane is one of several changes to the starting XV which lost 34-26 to the Stormers last Saturday in Cape Town, their first defeat of the 2017 Super Rugby season.

In the forwards, Brayden Mitchell earns his first start at hooker, while Taleni Seu is promoted from the bench to join Brodie Retallick in the second row. Mitchell Brown returns to the starting XV to wear the six jersey.

In the backs, Anton Lienert-Brown shifts to inside centre, with Sam McNicol making his first start for the season in jersey 13.

Of note in the reserves is the inclusion of 20-year-old Tasman back Alex Nankivell.

The young midfielder made his Super Rugby debut against the Stormers last Saturday, after joining the matchday 23 as a late replacement for his Tasman team-mate Finlay Christie.

Christie had to withdraw from the match due to illness, but is back to full health this week and ready to add impact off the bench in jersey 21.

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 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 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 Niell Jordaan, 21 Junior Pokomela/Luther Obi, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga

Chiefs

15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Sam McNicol, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 6 Mitchell Brown, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Taleni Seu, 3 Atu Moli, 2 Brayden Mitchell, 1 Kane Hames

Substitutes: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 18 Sefo Kautai, 19 Dominic Bird, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Shaun Stevenson