W Force v Cheetahs: Teams

Western Force coach John Mitchell has made seven changes to play South African side the Cheetahs at Subiaco on Friday.

The side kicked off its Super 14 campaign with a disappointing loss to the Blues on Friday.

Five of the changes are to the starting side as the Force seek to get their season on track following the 25-19 loss to the Auckland-based side at Subiaco Oval.

Eighteen-year-old Wallaby tourist James O'Connor has been promoted to the starting side at inside centre, where he will partner Ryan Cross if the former NRL star overcomes a badly bruised shoulder.

New signings Ben Castle and Josh Valentine will make their first Super 14 appearances for the Perth side, with prop Castle recovering from a neck injury and half-back Valentine a minor hamstring strain.

Castle, who has played 42 Super Rugby games with New Zealand outfit the Chiefs, is the Force's marquee signing for 2009.

Former Wallaby Scott Staniforth has been named on the bench after a long-term knee injury.

"The boys were very disappointed in their performance last Friday and are very much looking forward to the opportunity to turn things around this weekend," Mitchell said.

"There were some positives from the performance but we certainly need better finishing and need to maintain our physicality throughout the contest."

Western Force: 15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Haig Sare, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Tamaiti Horua, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Pat O'Connor, 3 Ben Castle, 2 Tai McIsaac, 1 Gareth Hardy.
Replacements: 16 Luke Holmes, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Tom Hockings, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 Josh Tatupu, 22 Scott Staniforth.

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Piet van Zyl, 12 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 11 Fabian Juries, 10 Meyer Bosman, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Frans Viljoen, 7 Juan Smith (c), 6 Heinrich Brussöw, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 Jacobus Roux, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wiaan du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Kobus Calldo, 18 Wayne van Heerden, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Sarel Pretorius, 21 Hanno Coetzee, 22 Bjorn Basson.