White wary of Cheetahs home record
Sharks coach Jake White says Cheetahs "a good team".
The KwaZulu-Natal side are currently in second place on the combined log and will be guaranteed of a top-two finish should they wins both their remaining games.
Jake White’s side have a good record against the Cheetahs but Naka Drotske’s side will look to put on a good show in their backyard.
“We are playing at home, so it’s very important for us to get a win for our fans,” said Drotske. “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.”
Sharks coach Jake White admitted that he is wary of the Cheetahs’ good home record but remains confident that his side will be ready for this crucial encounter.
“They (Cheetahs) 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.”
Toyota Cheetahs: Willie le Roux, Cornal Hendricks, Johann Sadie, Ryno Benjamin, Raymond Rhule, Johan Goosen, Sarel Pretorius, Philip van der Walt, Teboho Mohoje, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Francois Uys, Lood de Jager, Coenie Oosthuizen, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: Caylib Oosthuizen, Luan de Bruin, Carl Wegner, Jean Cook, Henco Venter, Shaun Venter, Elgar Watts, Hennie Daniller.
Cell C Sharks:
SP Marais, JP Pietersen, S’bura Sithole, Frans Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo, Tim Swiel, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Jean Deysel (captain), Marcell Coetzee, Anton Bresler, Stephan Lewies, Lourens Adriaanse, Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick.
Replacements:
Thomas du Toit, Bismarck du Plessis, Jannie du Plessis, Willem Alberts, Tera Mtembu, Charl McLeod, Odwa Ndungane, Tonderai Chavhanga.
