Venter praise for Straeuli

Brendan Venter believes two quality sides will be on display in Bloemfontein this Friday.

Venter, who serves as Director of Rugby at the Sharks, says the Sharks and Free State Cheetahs have managed to assemble strong squads.

Venter says Rudolf Straeuli deserves credit for his recruitment successes: "He recruited well and the Sharks are a good side with a good set of backs."

The former Springbok centre is also impressed with the Cheetahs backs.

"They have the likes of Sadie and Ebersohn. There is also Raymond Rhule. I worked with him in his time with the SA Under-20s. Sarel Pretorius is always a handful," Venter added.

Venter has been keeping a close eye on the Cheetahs and considers them an established side boosted by an impressive Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.

"Their defence has been especially impressive. Michael Horak has made a big impact in this department. This season it has been much harder to score tries against the Cheetahs," Venter continued.

Venter feels that the Cheetahs will be stronger with Trevor Nyakane back from international duty: "Trevor is a quality player and certainly caught the eye in the Super Rugby season. Naka Drotske must be very happy to have him back in the side."

The Absa Currie Cup clash in Bloemfontein will be refereed by Jason Jaftha.

Kickoff is at 19h10 on Friday night.

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

- Andre Bloem

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre