Milestone for SA and the Cheetahs as Coetzee hits 50

Cape Town - Aranos Coetzee will be the first South African player to earn his 50th PRO14 cap for a South African side when the Cheetahs take on Leinster on Saturday. 

Coach Hawies Fourie believes that Coetzee is a key member of his side and the calmness he gives the side in the set-piece has seen it become one of their attacking weapons - and certainly one they will need to use on Saturday in Dublin. 

Action at the RDS Arena in Dublin kicks off at 16:30 (SA time) with the match to be broadcast live on SuperSport 2.

Fourie has made just one change to the Cheetahs team that thrashed the Southern Kings 45-0 in their last match a fortnight ago in Bloemfontein, with Gerhard Olivier returning from injury, replacing Daniel Maartens on the bench. 

While they will be firm underdogs given Leinster’s form, Fourie believes that the key factor for his team is their attitude and whether they give themselves a chance against a Leinster side missing several Irish internationals.

“We are going there with the knowledge they are the strongest team in the competition, but we know if we pitch up on the day, then we will have a chance to win. And if you don’t think you have a chance to win, then you might as well not be in this competition.”

Teams:

Leinster

15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Jimmy O’Brien, 12 Joe Tomane, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Max Deegan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Scott Fardy (captain), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Peter Dooley

Substitutes: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Cian Kelleher

Cheetahs 

15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Clayton Blommetjies, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Chris Massyn, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Charles Marais

Substitutes: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Aidon Davis, 20 Gerhard Olivier, 21 Tian Meyer, 22.Louis Fouche, 23 Chris Smit