Cape Town - Lock Reniel Hugo will lead the Cheetahs when they take on the Bulls in a pre-season friendly clash in Harare on Saturday.
Hugo takes the captaincy in the absence of Francois Venter, who has been benched by coach Franco Smith.
Hugo represented the University of Pretoria (Tuks) for two seasons before making his way into Free State’s Currie Cup team last year.
Kick-off for Saturday’s clash is scheduled for 17:00.
The Cheetahs kick off their Super Rugby campaign against Argentina's Jaguares in Bloemfontein on February 26.
Teams:
Cheetahs:
15 Gerrie Labuschagne, 14 Ruan van Rensburg, 13 Reinhardt Erwee, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Clayton Blommetjies, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Danie Mienie
Substitutes: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Carl Wegner, 21 Niell Jordaan, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Fred Zeilinga, 24 Francois Venter, 25 Raymond Rhule
Bulls:
15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Kefentse Mahlo, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 6 Freddy Ngoza, 5 Marvin Orie (captain), 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.
Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Nqoba Mxoli, 19 Irne Herbst, 20 Riekert Hattingh, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 JT Jackson, 24 Jamba Ulengo