Two matches take place in the PRO14 on Friday as the Cheetahs welcome Ulster while Munster travel to face Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital.
Cheetahs v Ulster
Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith has announced his team for their PRO14 match against Ulster in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Ox Nche and Charles Marais switch places at loosehead prop, with Nche coming into the starting line-up and Marais providing cover on the bench.
Neill Jordaan replaces Aidon Davis at number eight, with Stephan Malan amongst the replacements. Malan will be making his PRO14 debut when he comes onto the field.
Elsewhere, Justin Basson returns to the bench, replacing Dennis Visser, while Louis Fouche could make his PRO14 debut if he gets the nod.
Meanwhile, Ulster Academy players Eric O’Sullivan and Angus Kernohan are set to make their first starts after producing impressive performances off the bench in recent weeks, including in Sunday’s 28-7 win versus Southern Kings.
The other newcomers to the team include tighthead prop Wiehahn Herbst, blindside flanker Matthew Rea, scrum-half Dave Shanahan and full-back Will Addison, a late withdrawal from the team to face the Kings due to illness.
O’Sullivan and Herbst will pack down in the front-row alongside skipper Rob Herring, while Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell are retained in the second-row.
The selection of Rea sees a slight re-shuffle in the back-row, with Marcell Coetzee moving to number eight, while Sean Reidy stays in the number seven jersey.
Shanahan comes in at scrum-half for John Cooney, who sustained a head injury in the win last week, and he will partner fly-half Billy Burns.
Henry Speight shifts from the wing to centre to play alongside Stuart McCloskey, so Kernohan, who scored his first senior try last week, gets an opportunity from the start. Addison and Craig Gilroy complete the starting side.
The teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (c), 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Walt Steenkamp, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Jospeh Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Günther Janse van Vuuren, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Stephan Malan, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 Ryno Eksteen
Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Henry Speight, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Angus Kernohan, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Dave Shanahan, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matt Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring (c), 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Jonny Stewart, 22 Angus Curtis, 23 Darren Cave
Date: Friday, September 21
Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 19:15 local (18:15 BST, 17:15 GMT)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Ben Crouse (South Africa)
Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Cardiff Blues v Munster
Ellis Jenkins will make his 100th appearance as Cardiff Blues take on Munster at Cardiff Arms Park in the PRO14 on Friday.
The Wales flanker sat out last week’s last-gasp loss to Zebre in Italy but is one of seven changes for the Arms Park encounter.
Three of those changes come in the backs with Jarrod Evans starting at fly-half and Gareth Anscombe switching to full-back. Willis Halaholo returns to partner Rey Lee-Lo in the centre and Blaine Scully makes his comeback from ankle surgery.
In the pack, Jenkins forms a familiar back-row with Nick Williams also returning alongside Josh Navidi.
That sees Josh Turnbull slot in at second-row, while Rhys Gill and Dmitri Arhip are back to pack down either side of Kristian Dacey.
Macauley Cook is also in line to make his 150th Cardiff Blues appearance should he be called into action from the bench.
There are six changes to the Munster side that beat Ospreys last week as CJ Stander makes his first appearance of the season in a back-row that also includes captain Peter O’Mahony and Chris Cloete.
JJ Hanrahan comes into the side at full-back and there is an all-changed centre partnership with Jaco Taute making his first start since returning from injury alongside Rory Scannell.
Hooker Mike Sherry and second-row Jean Kleyn are the only two alterations to the pack.
Hanrahan joins Andrew Conway and Darren Sweetnam in the back three as Duncan Williams and Joey Carbery continue their half-back partnership.
James Cronin and Stephen Archer pack down in the front-row with Sherry and Kleyn joins Tadhg Beirne in the engine room.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Willis Halaholo, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Ellis Jenkins (c), 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 George Earle, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Olly Robinson, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Matthew Morgan
Munster: 15 JJ Hanrahan, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Darren Sweetnam, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Brian Scott, 19 Darren O’Shea, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Jack Stafford, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Shane Daly
Date: Friday, September 21
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Gareth John (Wales)
Television match official: Ian Davies (Wales)