Powerful Samoan selection arrives in Bloemfontein
Forgotten Springbok flanker Rassie Erasmus will get a chance to display his talents on the international stage once again, when he captains the Free State Cheetahs against a powerful Samoan touring team in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
Erasmus, who made a fleeting return to top-flight rugby for the Stormers in the latter stages of the 2003 Super 12 season, will make his 100th appearance for the Free State team … a major honour by any standards.
But, considering the feeble nature of the Boks' performances this year, it would do Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli no harm to cast an eye over Erasmus's performance against the tough-tackling Samoans.
The tourists are not to be scoffed at, having just completed a two-match tour of Australia as part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup preparations. They managed to beat the New South Wales Waratahs and went down by a single point to the Queensland Reds.
But for Erasmus it will be a proud moment when he leads his beloved Cheetahs on to the field in his 100th game for the Bloemfontein outfit.
Those who observed the Samoans on their trip Down Under feel they may have too much fire-power for the Cheetahs, despite the latter fielding a near full-strength Currie Cup team.
One of the key players for the Cheetahs will be former Zimbabwean fly-half Kennedy Tsimba, who also made a couple of Super 12 appearances for the Cats this year, after finally being cleared by SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd to do so.
But he will only be as good as the ball that he gets from his forwards, where the likes of Erasmus and locks Boela du Plooy and Gerrie Britz are the key players.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 14 McNeil Hendriks, 13 Chris Kruger, 12 JP du Toit, 11 Friedrich Lombard, 10 Kennedy Tsimba, 9 Neil Powell, 8 Johan Erasmus (captain), 7 Nico Breedt, 6 Ryno van der Merwe, 5 Gerrie Britz, 4 Boela du Plooy, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 André Langley, 1 Güthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Dawid Britz, 17 Marius Mostert, 18 Rayno Gerber, 19 Marco Wentzel, 20 Gromingo Muzinga, 21 Jimmy Powell, 22 Tsepo Kokoali, 23 Eddie Fredericks.
Samoa: 15 Fa'atonu Fili, 14 Ron Fanuatanu, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 12 Gaolo Elisara, 11 Dominic Feaunati, 10 Earl Va'a, 9 Steven So'oialo, 8 Pama Petia, 7 Ponali Tapelu, 6 Junior Paramore, 5 Leo Lafaiali'i, 4 Kitiona Viliamu, 3 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Mahonri Schwagler, 1 Mark Laufaleaolo.
Replacements: 16 Denning Tyrell, 17 Brian Lima, 18 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 19 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 20 Jonothan Meredith, 21 Opeta Palepoli, 22 Tamato Leupolu.
Kick-off: 18.00 (16.00 GMT)
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