Cheetahs stalwart talks Currie Cup and the ‘return’ of Ruan Pienaar

Explosive loose forward Aidon Davis is excited to take up a senior role in the Cheetahs squad for the Currie Cup competition kicking off this weekend.

Davis received solid backing from coach Hawies Fourie when he was named as captain for the team’s campaign in the Toyota Challenge Cup in November.

But he will now take on the role of vice captain with the return of stalwart Ruan Pienaar, who spent the past few months on loan at the Sharks playing in the United Rugby Championship.

“I really enjoyed captaining the team, coach Hawies gave me the reins and I enjoyed taking that role on,” admitted Davis.

“Now with Ruan back I’ll take a small step back and take up the role of vice captain. But we have a very good leadership group with guys like Frans (Steyn) and Rosko Specman and others, so it’s a strong leadership group.

“It’s always good to have Ruan back, he’s a great captain and leader for us and an awesome player. He always leads from the front and does his business on the field.”

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The Cheetahs take on the Griquas in their first match in the new-look Currie Cup and head into the game with a fully fit and ready squad that is eager to get on the field and play in front of their home fans.

“If I look back at last year’s competition we played our first game with I think 10 or 15 guys being out with Covid. Luckily this time around we have no Covid cases or injuries and we are looking forward to hitting our stride from the start,” said Davis.

“The guys are very happy to be playing at home in the first game and we are excited to see fans back in the stadium. It makes it a very special occasion to start off the Currie Cup with our fans.”

Following the Griquas game the Cheetahs will have their first bye of the competition, with other teams in action in midweek matches, before they resume their campaign against the Bulls in early February.

“We played Saturday and midweek games in the Currie Cup last season which was very tough on the body with the quick turnaround. So we prefer having a break between games and we will be fresh and ready for the Bulls next month,” said Davis.