pairing, while Juan Smith will, as ever, need to deliver in the loose. The midfield pair of Meyer Bosman and Sias Ebersohn will need to be at their best this week against the strong-running Stormers counterparts, as holes here will be exploited all afternoon.
WE THINK: This one didn’t take much head-scratching – defeat for the Stormers would be a major surprise and we don’t think the Cheetahs have it in them. The team is finally delivering on the promise of a classy roster and sits second for a reason. Our call is that the Stormers will take five points from this game and do it comfortably.
TEAMS:
Stormers: 1.Wicus Blaauw, 2.Tiaan Liebenberg, 3.Brok Harris, 4.Anton Van Zyl, 5.Andries Bekker, 6.Schalk Burger (captain), 7.Francois Louw, 8.Duane Vermeulen, 9.Dewaldt Duvenhage, 10.Peter Grant, 11.Bryan Habana, 12.Tim Whitehead, 13.Jaque Fourie, 14.Gio Aplon, 15.Joe Pietersen.
Reserves: 16.Deon Fourie, 17.JC Kritzinger, 18.De Kock Steenkamp, 19.Pieter Louw, 20.Ricky Januarie, 21.Willem de Waal, 22.Sireli Naqelevuki.
Cheetahs: 1.Wian du Preez, 2.Adriaan Strauss, 3.WP Nel, 4.Nico Breedt, 5.Walti Vermeulen, 6.Hendro Scholtz, 7.Juan Smith (captain), 8.Frans Viljoen, 9.Sarel Pretorius, 10.Naas Olivier, 11.Jongi Nokwe, 12.Meyer Bosman, 13.Sias Ebersohn, 14.Lionel Mapoe, 15.Hennie Daniller.
Reserves: 16.Ryno Barnes, 17.Corne Oosthuizen, 18.Barend Pieterse, 19.Kabamba Floors, 20.Tewis de Bruyn, 21.Corne Uys, 22.Danwel Demas.
REFEREE: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)