Round of 16

The Toyota Cheetahs travelled to France this week, where they will face RC Toulon, a giant in world rugby, on Saturday, 1 April. Kick-off at Stade Felix Mayol in Toulon at 13:30. 

RC Toulon was the runner’s up in last year’s EPCR Challenge Cup when they lost against Lyon in the final. Dangerous players in their group are Dan Biggar from Wales, Mathieu Bastareaud, Charles Ollivon, Cornell du Preez (South Africa) and Waisea Nayacalevu from Fiji. 

In Round 4, Cheslin Kolbe and Ducan Paia’aua beat more defenders than any other players: nine and six, respectively. Toulon has beaten the most defenders in the league (107) and won more scrum penalties on their own feed than any other. Dan Biggar has made the most metres from penalty kicks to touch in the competition (822).

“The three weeks of Currie Cup were important to give all the players game time and to select the right players for this match.” Said Coach Hawies Fourie.

“We’ll definitely miss a valuable player and kicker like Frans Steyn. Still, we’ve planned accordingly, and the responsible players have done it before and have the confidence to do what is required.”

This past weekend, Frans Steyn sustained a knee injury in the Currie Cup match against the Vodacom Bulls. 

“We are used to playing away (in EPCR Challenge Cup) and adapting to the conditions quickly. It is still cold here, but the forecast for Saturday is for no rain, but strong winds are expected. We’ll have to adapt and adjust quickly on Saturday.

“Toulon has a quality team, and it will be a big ask and much tougher than the previous rounds. We expect to play against their best side. We’ve braced ourselves for that and have to play confidently and believe in what we do.”

The team for the historic encounter is: 

Toyota Cheetahs

15.          Tapiwa Mafura    

14.          Daniel Kasende

13.          David Brits

12.          Robert Ebersohn

11.          Munier Hartzenberg

10.          Reinhardt Fortuin

9.            Ruan Pienaar

8.            Jeandré Rudolph

7.            Oupa Mohoje

6.            Gideon van der Merwe

5.            Victor Sekekete (Captain)

4.            Rynier Bernardo

3.            Hencus van Wyk

2.            Marnus van der Merwe

1.            Schalk Ferreira

16.         Marko Janse van Rensburg

17.         Alulutho Tshakweni

18.         Nqobisizwe Mxoli

19.         Mzwanele Zito

20.         Siba Qoma

21.         Daniel Maartens

22.         Rewan Kruger

23.          Cohen Jasper

The match officials are all from Italy:  The referee is Andrea Piardi. He will be assisted by Alex Frasson and Manuel Bottino.  The TMO is Matteo Liperini. All the match officials are from Italy.