The Toyota Challenge is a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
competition hosted in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
by the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
, a team sponsored by
Toyota SA The SA was Toyota's first new passenger car design (as opposed to updating the AA) after World War II. It was the first in a family of vehicles before the introduction of the Crown. A series of light trucks also shared the chassis and major comp ...
. The first tournament took place at the
Toyota Stadium in
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
between 13 November and 26 November 2021.
In 2021, four teams played against the Cheetahs across four matches, with a 250,000 rand prize money for each match. In addition, players were rewarded for "positive play actions" during the games, while fans were rewarded for supporting their favourite teams in the stadium and online on various social media platforms.
The Cheetahs are currently without a permanent tournament, whilst the Stormers and Sharks compete in the
United Rugby Championship
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...
.
CSM Știința Baia Mare
CSM Știința Baia Mare is a professional Romanian rugby union club from Baia Mare, which plays in the Liga Națională de Rugby, the first division of Romanian rugby. In recent times they have been the most successful rugby union team in Romania ...
competes in Romania's top level professional league the
SuperLiga and
Diables Barcelona are a newly formed Spanish pro team to promote professionalism in the Spain.
The Toyota Challenge fixtures are broadcast by
SuperSport.
The Cheetahs won six out of eight Toyota Challenge matches since 2021 making them the most successful team in the tournament.
In 2022, the competition returned with five team competing in a four-match Toyota Challenge with each match winning again winning a 250,000 rand prize money. The Cheetahs remained as the hosts and are joined by
Emerging Ireland
Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup.
History
2013 Tbilisi Cup
The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...
,
USA Falcons XV and
Griquas
The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...
.
Italy A had been set to participate, but later withdrew and replaced by the
Bulls.
Bulls replace Italy A in the Toyota Challenge
/ref>
Competing teams
* Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
(2021, 2022, 2023)
* CSM Știința Baia Mare
CSM Știința Baia Mare is a professional Romanian rugby union club from Baia Mare, which plays in the Liga Națională de Rugby, the first division of Romanian rugby. In recent times they have been the most successful rugby union team in Romania ...
(2021)
* Diables Barcelona (2021)
* Sharks
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...
(2021)
* Stormers XV (2021)
* Western Province XV (2022)
* Bulls (2022)
* Griquas
The Griquas (; af, Griekwa, often confused with ''!Orana'', which is written as ''Korana'' or ''Koranna'') are a subgroup of heterogeneous former Khoe-speaking nations in Southern Africa with a unique origin in the early history of the Cap ...
(2022)
* Pumas (2022)
* Emerging Ireland
Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup.
History
2013 Tbilisi Cup
The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...
(2022)
* USA National A (2022)
* Western Force
The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...
(2023)
Overall Record
The overall record for the teams in the Toyota Challenge matches is as follows:
2021
Toyota Challenge Fixtures
''The below fixtures counted towards games where the winners would win the 250,000 rand prize money.''
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Toyota Friendlies
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2022
Toyota Challenge Fixtures
''The below fixtures counted towards games where the winners would win the 250,000 rand prize money.''
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Toyota Friendlies
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2023
Toyota Challenge Fixtures
''The below fixtures counted towards games where the winners would win the 250,000 rand prize money.''
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See also
* 2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals
* 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals
The 2022 end of year rugby union tests, also known as the 2022 Autumn internationals, were a number of rugby union test matches played during the months of October and November. Some of the games were known as the Autumn Nations Series for marketin ...
References
{{Reflist
Toyota Challenge
2021 in South African rugby union
August 2021 sports events in Africa
2021 in Spanish sport
2021 in Romanian sport