SEMI-FINAL vs CHEETAHS SATURDAY • 31 AUGUST • 17:00 TOYOTA STADIUM • BLOEMFONTEIN CONTENTS CHEETAHS TOYOTA CHEETAHS EDITORIAL TEAM SA Rugby President Message Ronel Pienaar Kobus le Roux Toyota Sponsor’s Message Chantelle du Plessis Free State Rugby Union Message ADVERTISING AND SUITES Wilna Jurack Free State Cheetahs (Pty) Ltd Message 084 854 4492 Toyota FS Cheetahs Player Profiles PHOTOGRAPHY Johan Pretorius Toyota FS Cheetahs vs Cell C Sharks TOYOTA CHEETAHS Currie Cup Fixtures & Results MARKETING MANAGER Kobus le Roux COPYRIGHT The official Cheetahs programme is compiled by Yskoud.com under license from Cheetahs (Pty) Ltd. All registered trademarks remain the property of Cheetahs and are used with Cheetahs permission. The views expressed in this programme are not necessarily those of Yskoud.com or Cheetahs. All right reserved. No part of this programme may be reproduced in any form, without the prior arrangement of the Cheetahs. CheetahsRugby www.facebook.com/CheetahsRugby @CheetahsRugby www.fscheetahs.co.za SA RUGBY PRESIDENT MESSAGE Good afternoon and welcome to this Thanks to the fans who have come to the Currie Cup match, proudly brought to stadium to support these teams. You are you by DirectAxis Financial Services. not only showing your support for them, but for the Currie Cup and South African The Currie Cup is one of the oldest rugby, and for that we are very grateful. competitions in world rugby, and we are delighted that the rich history, tradition Your support will assist us in ensuring that and passion associated with the the Currie Cup remains steeped in history competition and trophy still remains as one of the greatest competitions in the following the tournament’s inception in world, and one that your children, 1891. grandchildren and great grandchildren will be passionate about for many years to In the coming weeks the teams will give come. everything in the name of their team-mates and their provinces, and for I would like to extend a special thanks to all of the players it will mark a memorable the provincial unions for all your hard occasion. work to ensure that your teams are well equipped to do their best on the field and Holding the Currie Cup aloft remains one for your contribution to keeping South of the biggest honours and achievements African rugby fresh and exciting. for teams in South African rugby, and we are excited to see the participating sides stake a claim for a place in the final Enjoy the rugby! stages in attempt to reach this feat. Once again every game will be vital and every point will count as the competition features an action-packed single round. I would like to wish the teams and match officials good luck for the match and for the rest of the competition, and I have no doubt that they will deliver a high Mark Alexander standard of rugby. SA Rugby President A big word of thanks also to our sponsor, DirectAxis Financial Services, now in their fourth year of sponsoring the Currie Cup. Without their support, this competition would not be possible. TOYOTA SPONSOR’S MESSAGE Welcome to today’s Currie Cup match here at you and look forward to taking the Toyota the Toyota Stadium. Cheetahs into the future with you. The Toyota It is that time of the season again where the Free State Cheetahs theme for the season is next crop of players who will one day prove “Let’s win again” and we know that this is themselves in the hallowed green-and-gold, exactly what you will deliver. test their mettle in the world’s oldest and We look forward to the start of the new season toughest domestic rugby competition. as well as the start of the new three-year For most of the teams in South Africa, Currie relationship with the Cheetahs and will contin- Cup marks the halfway stage of the season, ue to show the support we have provided over but for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs it is the past few years - not only as a sponsor but where the season begins, and with a much as a proud partner of Toyota Cheetahs. more experienced and settled squad as To the opposition – welcome to Toyota opposed to this time last year, we are expect- Stadium. We look forward to the battle on the ing nothing less than a thrilling campaign from field. It will be tough and it will also be the boys. exciting. You are all living the dream, enjoy it The Toyota Free State XV once again proved and let rugby be the big winner. themselves during the Super Sport Rugby Lastly, and most importantly, to the loyal fans, Challenge and it will be really exciting to see this is all about you. The boys cannot do this some of the standout performers take the next without your unwavering and loyal support. step in their journey as rugby players and The team has committed to making you measure themselves against a more proud. Let’s fill the stadium and show the determined opponent in the Currie Cup. world why the Toyota Cheetahs are the pride Franco Smith takes charge of the team during of the Free State. Welcome on board for this the Currie Cup in what will also be his final exciting journey, and thank you again for hooray at the Toyota Free State Cheetahs supporting the boys. before starting the next leg of his own personal Enjoy the match. journey as a coach. Knowing him, we are confident that he will want to go out with a bang and replicate the team’s feat in 2016 when they lifted the coveted Currie Cup. The man that will be taking over from him, Hawies Enjoy the match. Fourie, will also be assisting the team during the tournament, and his expertise will definitely be invaluable during their quest. Tian Meyer will be leading the boys onto the park this season, and he will have several strong leaders to help him in his duty. With the strong leadership core, we are confident that the players will prove themselves to be outstanding ambassadors for the Toyota Cheetahs both on and off the field. To Franco Smith, Tian Meyer, the rest of the Andrew Kirby coaches and the players, we stand alongside President and CEO FREE STATE RUGBY UNION MESSAGE CHEETAHS Good afternoon and welcome to and they feed of your energy, your the highly anticipated Currie Cup passion and your love for the semi-final in Bloemfontein! game. Thank you for once again being the heartbeat of this team. This is an exciting day for Free State Rugby and our die-hard May you all enjoy this day and rugby fans. It is the first time since especially the camaraderie of 2013 that the Toyota Free State rugby friends. Cheetahs and Cell C Sharks meet in a Currie Cup Semi-final. Your Sincerely We welcome our opponents and their supporters to Bloemfontein. We hope that you enjoy the hospitality of Toyota Stadium and our wonderful city. Once again we promise a fierce battle on the field, and lots of friendship off the field. The Free State Rugby Union is proud to have two amateur sides, Free State Sub Union and Free Jerry Segwaba State Amateur who will be facing President : Free State Rugby Union each other in a curtain raiser this afternoon. To our loyal fans, who turn up to support the team time and again no matter what the result, we salute you. Remember you are the catalyst for the team’s performance CLAYTON BLOMMETJIES FREE STATE CHEETAHS (PTY) LTD MESSAGE CHEETAHS On behalf of the Free State Cheetahs and his team all the best for today’s (Pty) Ltd, it is my pleasure to welcome important encounter. all of you the Currie Cup Semi-final here in Toyota Stadium. Allow me to Free State Rugby is also proud of the extend a friendly welcome to our Toyota Free State Cheetah u.21 side visitors from Durban. that will be playing in a semi-final in Cape Town today. Good luck Melusi A special word of gratitude to our Mthethwa and his side. sponsors, dignitaries, fans and organizational members who Come and let’s enjoy the day and contributed to this day throughout the let’s hope we’ll see you again next season. We value the presence of week. each and everyone here today. This is an exciting day for Free State Rugby and our die-hard rugby fans as we witness the 22nd Currie Cup semi-final for the Free State side, and the 6th in Bloemfontein. 14 of these semi-finals lead to finals. Ryno Opperman We are proud of our team for ending Chairman first on the log and we wish Franco WALT STEENKAMP TOYOTA FS CHEETAHS PLAYER PROFILES CHEETAHS 1 12 13 PROP HOOKER PROP 114 kg 105 kg 118 kg 1.75 m 1.75 m 1.90 m 24 caps 17 caps 6 caps OX NCHE JOSEPH DWEBA ERICH DE JAGER 14 15 16 LOCK LOCK FLANK 109 kg 125 kg 116 kg 1.97 m 2.03 m 1.87 m 6 caps 6 caps 12 caps SINTU MANJEZI WALT STEENKAMP JUNIOR POKOMELA 17 18 19 FLANK NO. 8 SCRUMHALF 110 kg 106 kg 91 kg 2.00 m 1.93 m 1.90 m 11 caps 36 caps 37 caps ABONGILE NONKONTWANA HENCO VENTER RUAN PIENAAR 101 111 121 FLYHALF WING CENTRE 95 kg 84 kg 97 kg 1.82 m 1.77 m 1.84 m 34 caps 70 caps 37 caps TIAN SCHOEMAN TIAN MEYER (c) DRIES SWANEPOEL TOYOTA FS CHEETAHS PLAYER PROFILES CHEETAHS 131 141 151 CENTRE WING FULLBACK 95 kg 94 kg 89 kg 1.88 m 1.80 m 1.90 m 10 caps 36 caps 39 caps BENHARD JANSE VAN RENSBURG WILLIAM SMALL-SMITH CLAYTON BLOMMETJIES 161 171 181 RESERVE RESERVE RESERVE 103 kg 105 kg 118 kg 1.82 m 1.80 m 1.77 m 32 caps 17 caps 13 caps JACQUES DU TOIT SCHALK VAN DER MERWE REINACH VENTER 191 201 211 RESERVE RESERVE RESERVE 115 kg 106 kg 110 kg 2.10 m 1.89 m 1.90 m 7 caps 21 caps 14 caps JP DU PREEZ GERHARD OLIVIER JASPER WIESE 221 231 RESERVE RESERVE 98 kg 73 kg 1.89 m 1.70 m 38 caps 4 caps LOUIS FOUCHE DARREN ADONIS CHEETAHS Ox Nche 1 Thomas du Toit Joseph Dweba 2 Kerron van Vuuren Erich de Jager 3 Coenie Oosthuizen Sintu Manjezi 4 Ruben van Heerden Walt Steenkamp 5 Hyron