The Cheetahs and Stormers will hope to hit the ground running when they return to action, after the Test break, in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Although the Stormers are sitting pretty at the top of the Africa 1 Conference table and the Cheetahs are a whopping 14 points adrift in second place, this is a South African derby in which no quarter will be asked or given.
With the June internationals now over, several Test players return to Super Rugby action although the Cheetahs' chances of winning this clash improved significantly when the Stormers opted to rest Springbok stalwarts Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi, who were two of their country's stars in their recent 3-0 series whitewash against France.
Matches between these sides are usually thrilling affairs although the Cheetahs will have extra motivation to win this one after conceding 50 points to the men from the Cape when these sides met in the corresponding fixture in Cape Town earlier this year.
The Stormers have won their last four games against the Cheetahs, restricting them to 12 points or fewer on three occasions in that span. The Cheetahs have trailed at half-time in only one of their last six home South African derbies, though they’ve gone on to win only two of those six with the other encounters all ending in defeat.
Despite heading into this match with a good record in South African derbies, the Stormers have lost their last four games away from home, their longest drought since a stretch of seven road losses in 2014.
The Stormers have conceded only two penalty goals in the second half of games so far this season, fewer than any other team in the competition.
Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck said his team will have to be at their best in what will be a typically tough derby.
“The Cheetahs are always a tough prospect on their home turf, so we will have to be sharp if we are to come away with the win we are looking for," he explained.
“The players have trained well this week and we are excited to see what they are able to produce in Bloemfontein.”
The last time the teams met: The Stormers were in a rampant mood, registering a 53-10 victory when these sides met at Newlands in Round 6. The men from the Cape outscored their hapless visitors by eight tries to one. Sikhumbuzo Nothse scored a hat-trick of tries for the home side with Dillyn Lleyds dotting down twice. The Stormers' other tries were scored by Dan du Plessis, Robert Du Preez and Siya Kolisi, and Paul Schoeman crossed the whitewash for the Cheetahs.
Players to watch: If the home side want to be successful, much will depend on the performance of Niel Marais. The burly fly-half is an excellent goalkicker who will be expected to keep the scoreboard for the hosts if the Stormers are penalised within his range. Marais is the only player in the competition to have had at least 20 attempts at goal and maintained a goal success rate of at least 90 percent after succeeding with 18 out of 20 shots at goal.
Marais' direct opponent is the highly-rated Damian Willemse who makes his run-on debut for the men from the Cape in this clash. Willemse is a special talent and recently returned from the World Rugby U20 Championships where he represented the South Africa U20 side, mostly as an inside centre. Fly-half is his preferred position though and his playmaking skills should keep the Cheetahs defenders on their toes.
Team news: The Cheetahs are boosted by the return of experienced centre Francois Venter to their side. Venter comes in for William Small-Smith while Tian Meyer replaces Shaun Venter at scrum-half for the Super Rugby game this Saturday. Up front, Niell Jordaan is named at number eight while Reniel Hugo and Elandre Huggett are included in the second-row and at hooker respectively, with Torsten van Jaarsveld out injured for the Free State Stadium clash.
Tighthead prop Frans Malherbe will captain the Stormers in this derby. Loosehead prop JC Janse van Rensburg returns from injury to take his place in the front row alongside Malherbe and hooker Ramone Samuels, who makes his first start of the season. Bongi Mbonambi and Wilco Louw will provide front row cover off the replacements bench, along with Steven Kitshoff who will make his first appearance for the Stormers since 2015 if called upon. In the second row Chris van Zyl takes Etzebeth’s place next to Pieter-Steph du Toit, with JD Schickerling as back-up amongst the replacements. Rynhardt Elstadt also returns from injury to link up with Kobus van Dyk and Nizaam Carr in the loose trio, while Sikhumbuzo Notshe is set to provide impact as a replacement. In the backline, the experienced Jano Vermaak will link up with 19-year-old fly-half Damian Willemse, who makes his first Stormers start and Kiwi Shaun Treeby partners Juan de Jongh in midfield, with EW Viljoen playing off the replacements bench. The back three of Leyds, Cheslin Kolbe and SP Marais will start the game, while Sevens star Seabelo Senatla will inject some pace from the bench.
Form: The Cheetahs ended a nine-match losing streak with a 47-7 win over the Sunwolves in Tokyo in Round 14. before the break for the mid-year Tests
The Stormers suffered a loss away to the Sharks before the break for the June internationals. A week before that, they beat the Blues in Cape Town after which ended a four-match losing streak after suffering defeats to the Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes, on their New Zealand tour, and against the Lions before that.
Prediction: With this match being played in Bloemfontein, this will be a much closer encounter than the previous one between these sides. The visitors will still be triumphant though. Stormers to win by 10 points.
Previous results:
2017: Stormers won 53-10 in Cape Town
2016: Stormers won 31-24 in Cape Town
2016: Stormers won 20-10 in Bloemfontein
2015: Stormers won 42- 12 in Cape Town
2015: Cheetahs won 25-17 in Bloemfontein
2014: Stormers won 33-0 in Cape Town
2014: Cheetahs won 35-22 in Bloemfontein
2013: Stormers won 28-3 in Cape Town
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Henco Venter, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Elandré Huggett, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jo Dweba, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Oupa Mohoje, 21 Fred Zeilinga, 22 Ruan van Rensburg, 23 William Small-Smith
Stormers: 15 SP Marais, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Rynardt Elstadt, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Frans Malherbe (c), 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 EW Viljoen, 23 Seabelo Senatla
Date: Saturday, July 1
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:05 local (13:05 GMT)
Referee: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
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