Currie Cup: Clayton Blommetjies to celebrate incredible 150th cap against Sharks

Blommetjies made his debut for the Free State side in 2014 and has since become one of the union's most loyal players. His 150 appearances comprise 29 Super Rugby matches (his 10 appearances for the Central Cheetahs franchise, consisting of the Cheetahs, Griquas and Griffons, are not included as official Toyota Cheetahs caps), 71 Currie Cup matches, 25 PRO14 matches, five Super Rugby Unlocked matches, three Franchise Cup matches, 11 SA Cup matches, one international fixture against Georgia, three Toyota Challenge matches and one EPCR Challenge Cup match.

"Free State is home," reflected Blommetjies.

"This is where everything started for me. I love the brand of rugby we play here - running rugby. It's the type of rugby I grew up with in the Boland. It is a privilege and an honour to run onto the field for my 150th game for the Toyota Cheetahs. But this game is not about me. Our focus is to go out there, earn the five points, build momentum and continue preparing for the second leg of the Toyota Challenge and the EPCR Challenge Cup later this year.”

Looking ahead to Friday's clash, head coach Frans Steyn stressed the importance of returning to the team's foundations.

"We need to focus on our processes and our systems," said the double World Cup winner.

"The younger players coming through our different squads are incredibly talented, and we need to be at the top of our game. We're looking for a quality performance on Friday. We also want Toyota Stadium to be full by the end of the Currie Cup, and the only way to achieve that is by playing good rugby, winning games and getting the fundamentals right.”

Steyn has made several changes to the side that faced the Lions in the opening round as the Cheetahs look to register their first victory of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Sharks have made two changes to their matchday 23 that defeated the Pumas last week.

Danilo Botha comes in for Jannes Potgieter at flank, while Bryce Calvert is named as the reserve hooker, replacing Jacques Marais.

"We're looking at the Cheetahs as another opportunity to build a bit of momentum, find some cohesion as a group and measure ourselves against a really good team," said head coach Mike Vowles.

"They're a settled team who have played a lot of rugby together, they have some experienced players in their group and we anticipate a physical battle from them.

"But having seen what our group can do, I have no doubt we'll be able to match them physically.  But our focus is on ourselves and on us improving, finding cohesion and building on one performance after another, understanding that this competition isn't won in round one or two, you have to consistently perform to stay at the top.

"There's a really positive and good culture amongst the group, from Tom Dyer and his leadership group, they're really guided this team well."

Cheetahs - 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenk (c), 7 Juan Venter, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Curtly Thomas, 4 Victor Sekekete, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Tielman Nieuwoudt.

Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Tebogo Nkosi, 18 Ben Pitout, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Sisonke Vumazonke, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Marco Janse van Vuren, 23 Henry Immelman.

Sharks - 15 Chijindu Okonta, 14 Christie Grobbelaar, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Lyle Matthews, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Thomas Dyer (c), 7 Danilo Botha, 6 Willem van den Hever, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 Simphiwe Ngobese, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Cameron Dawson.

Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Jaco du Toit, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Sipho Nonyalela, 20 Hanu Pieterse, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Chris Horak, 23 Matthew Fortuin.