Francois Venter will return from injury to lead the Cheetahs against the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Venter has been sidelined for the first four games of the season while completing his recovery from an ankle injury, but will now make a start at outside centre.
In addition, the Cheetahs have been boosted by the return of Ox Nche, Justin Basson, Raymond Rhule, Nico Lee and Sergeal Petersen, who all return from injury.
In other changes, Johan Coetzee, Paul Schoeman, Shaun Venter and Fred Zeilinga move from the bench to the starting lineup, while Henco Venter shifts from flank to No 8, with Niell Jordaan dropping to the bench.
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 Nico Lee, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Rayno Benjamin/Clinton Swart.
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
