With the first game done and dusted already in the Currie Cup Premier Division Promotion / Relegation series and the EP Kings needing a mighty 40 point win, including bonus point for tries, it is an uphill battle for the men from Eastern Province.

We see calls from EP’s Alan Solomons going out not to judge the EP Kings and Southern Kings on these two games, but seriously, what else are we supposed to do?

The Toyota Free State Cheetahs is hardly featuring a full Free State side, let alone a full Super Rugby side, due to the plethera of injuries they are currently experiencing, coupled to the fact that the Griquas portion of their Super Rugby Franchise is NOT included in these games at all.

What we DO KNOW is that the mainstay of these two Super Rugby Franchises will be players from the respective Currie Cup sides, so the current reflection is the nearest we can come to judging what might transpire next year in Super Rugby at the Southern Kings.

Well, enough of that, we have to concentrate on Friday’s Promotion / Relegation game first and foremost, and here’s the Team sheets for this encounter:

Teams:

EP Kings: 15 Michael Killian, 14 Norman Nelson, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Tiger Mangweni, 11 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Falie Oelschig, 8 Devin Oosthuizen, 7 Wimpie van der Walt, 6 Conraad Britz, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 4 Darron Nell (Captain), 3 Andre Schlechter, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Frank Herne, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 David Bullbring, 19 Mpho Mbiyozo, 20 Scott Mathie, 21 Wesley Dunlop, 22 Scott van Breda.

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Robert  Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Adriaan Strauss (Captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Hendrik Venter, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Barry Geel, 22 Nico Scheepers.

Date: Friday 26 October
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Kick-off: 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Quintin Immelman, Cobus Wessels
TMO: Johann Meuwesen