Hawies Fourie has been forced to make several changes to his Free State Cheetahs backline for Wednesday’s visit to the Sharks, as the Bloemfontein outfit look to extend their unbeaten run in the Currie Cup.

The Cheetahs, who came from behind to beat Western Province 24-17 last week in Bloemfontein, are top of the log ahead of their top-of-the-table clash at the Shark Tank.

Malcolm Jaer (ankle) and Rosko Specman (concussion) have been ruled out for the trip to Durban, with Clayton Blommetjies and Robert Ebersohn coming into the match-day 23. Cohen Jasper shifts to No 11 from fullback in place of Jaer, with Daniel Kasende moving to right wing, while Blommetjies starts at 15.

Ebersohn is on the bench for Specman, who took a nasty blow to the head when he attempted to tackle WP’s Angelo Davids.

Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 David Brits, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ruan Pienaar (c), 8 Mihlali Mosi, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Aidon Davis, 3 Marne Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Subs: 16  Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18          Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ockie Barnard, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 Robert Ebersohn.