Cheetahs v Lions: Teams

It will be anyone's game on Saturday afternoon when the Free State Cheetahs clash with the Lions in the final of the Absa Currie Cup.

Absa Currie Cup final, October 27, live on SS3 from 3pm

It will be anyone's game on Saturday afternoon when the Free State Cheetahs clash with the Lions in the final of the Absa Currie Cup. Should the two sides keep the ball close and play a tight conservative game, it will most likely come down to who makes the least mistakes and who has the better kicking as both sides boast solid defence and strong physical forwards. If the ball is moved wide the game could prove to be an exciting affair. Here it will come down to a backline battle, with fly-half Willem de Waal and scrum-half Falie Oelschig being the key players for the Cheetahs, while the Lions will be looking to centre Jaco Pretorius and No.15 Louis Ludik to set the game alight.

Critical

"Louis is a great strike runner," coach Eugene Eloff said. "He's easily as good as Jaco and [winger] Rayno Benjamin. "He's going to play a critical role in the game." Other players to watch will be the Marius Joubert and Hendrik Meyer for the Cheetahs, while the Lions' Walter Venter has been a revelation at inside centre after he replaced the injured Doppies la Grange late in the competition. The battle up front will be key in the wet weather and here the Lions will be counting on Springbok prop Lawrence Sephaka and up-and-coming front row star Heinke van der Merwe, while the Cheetahs hooker Richardt Strauss has been nothing short of brilliant this year.

Statement

"They will probably try and make a statement with their forwards, but we'll just play our own game," Eloff said. "I don't believe in changing something that works. We won't deviate from our pattern of recent weeks, although we have contingency plans in place to change our game if needed." The Cheetahs are also looking for a versatile approach, with coach Naka Drotské saying that the side wouldn't deviate too much from what they had done in the past. "We'll stick to what works and see how the game goes," he said. "We've never decided on a strategy beforehand, we either run it with the backs or we kick. It doesn't matter which strategy we use. We just make the appropriate adjustments as the situation demands." Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Jaco Pretorius , 12 Walter Venter, 11 Ryno Benjamin, 10 Louis Strydom , 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Ernst Joubert (captain), 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Cobus Grobler, 19 Wilhelm Koch, 20 Freddie van Zyl, 21 Earl Rose, 22 Wylie Human.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Alwyn Hollenbach, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Hendrik Meyer, 11 Gavin Passens, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Falie Oelschig, 8 Darron Nell, 7 Duanne Vermeulen, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Corniel van Zyl, 4 Rory Duncan (captain), 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Jaco du Toit, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Barend Pieterse, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Kabamba Floors, 21 Tewis de Bruyn, 22 Meyer Bosman.