The Cheetahs (known for sponsorship reasons as the Toyota Cheetahs), is a South African professional

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 ...

team that played Super Rugby between 2006 and 2017, before joining the Pro14 (Now United Rugby Championship) competition prior to the 2017–18 season. They are based at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. They have been included with the Lions (Of the URC) to compete in the 2022-23 EPCR Challenge Cup. The franchise area encompasses the western half of the Free State province, the same as that of provincial

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premi ...

side the . Between 2006 and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, the from the eastern half of the Free State province and from the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi ...

province were Cheetahs franchise partners, but this ended prior to the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

. The Cheetahs was one of the two new franchises that entered the expanded Super 14 competition in 2006, the other being Australia's Western Force. The Central Union was awarded the fifth South African franchise over the SEC franchise in April 2005. In its first season the Cheetahs did surprisingly well, finishing tenth in the final standings, out of 14 sides. Prior to being accepted into the

2006 Super 14 The 2006 Super 14 season started on 10 February 2006. The Grand Final was held on 27 May 2006. Super 14 is a provincial rugby union competition with 14 teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. This season was the first of the expansion ...

season, the Cheetahs were represented as a part of the

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

. In addition, before the South African Rugby Union entered regionalised franchises into the competition, the

Free State Cheetahs The Free State Cheetahs (formerly the Orange Free State), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, for sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed b ...

side competed in the

1997 Super 12 season The 1997 Super 12 season was the second season of the Super 12, contested by rugby union teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from 28 February to 31 May 1997, with each team playing all the others once. At the end ...

Strip

The primary strip for the Toyota Cheetahs is an orange jersey with a white collar and white trim. Black shorts with orange socks and white trim. The colours are representative of the Free State Currie Cup side; orange and white (Free State Cheetahs) The alternative jersey is the same design, though it is a white jersey with an orange collar and orange trim. Black shorts with orange socks and white trim.

History

Prior to South Africa entering franchises into the then Super 12, the domestic Currie Cup sides competed instead. The Free State Cheetahs, one of the sides that make up the current Central Cheetahs, competed in one Super 12 season in 1997. The Free State played 11 matches, winning 5 and losing 6. They placed 7th on the end of season standings. Proposals by the Central Union franchise and the SEC (Southern and Eastern Cape) franchise were studied for the allocation of a fifth Super Rugby team licence. The Central Union emphasized points to the SARU such as that the region is second only to the Western Province in terms of producing players for the national side. The Central Union noted that they have a strong and stable fanbase that would be able to meet financial and administrative responsibilities and demands of a Super 14 rugby side. In mid April 2005, the South African Rugby Union announced that the Central Unions franchise would be its fifth team for the expanded Super 14 competition that would begin in 2006. They were awarded the franchise ahead of the Southern and Eastern Cape (see Southern Spears). In the pre-season of their entrance to the new look Super 14 competition, the Cheetahs played both of the other new franchises, new Australian team; the Western Force and 2007 fellow South African team, the Southern Spears. The Cheetahs proved to be the strongest out of the new sides, demolishing the Spears 48 to nil and soundly defeating the Force in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. The Cheetahs played their first game on 10 February, proving they are fighting fit, but were not good enough on the day for the South African

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding * Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, losing their first official match in Bloemfontein 18 points to 30. The Cheetahs won their first Super 14 game in week two, defeating the Sharks in a thrilling match seeing the Cheetahs win by a single point, 27 to 26. Entering round four of the 2006 season, the Cheetahs were facing the table leaders, the Hurricanes. In a surprise result, the Cheetahs beat the table leaders, thus winning their first home game and proving they deserve to be in the Super 14. The Cheetahs finally broke their drought in overseas matches with an upset over the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the stat ...

on 19 March 2011. Following SANZAAR's decision to reduce the number of teams for

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, the South African Rugby Union announced that the Cheetahs would be one of the teams cut from the 2018 competition. Instead, the Cheetahs joined the previously-northern hemispherean Pro14 competition prior to the 2017–18 season. The Cheetahs were unable to compete in the

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''PRO ...

due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

travel restrictions. Instead, the team played the

Super Rugby Unlocked Super Rugby Unlocked (known as Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked for sponsorship reasons) was a professional rugby union competition played in South Africa from 10 October to 21 November 2020. Sponsored by communications company Vodacom, the tourname ...

in late 2020 and the

Preparation Series The Preparation Series was a South African rugby union tournament organised by SA Rugby. The tournament was used to be a number of preparation fixtures were announced by SA Rugby. It served as preparation for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour ...

in early 2021. However, the Cheetahs were not invited into the Pro14 Rainbow Cup. The Pro14 was rebranded as the United Rugby Championship for the 2021–22, and the team was not selected to enter it.

Honours

Minor Honours

* Lafarge Zimbabwe Champions Cup winners''
2016
* ''Toyota Challenge:'' winners 4 times 2021, 2022 runner up 1 time 2021

Stadia

The Cheetahs' home stadium is the Free State Stadium, previously referred to as Vodacom Park for sponsorship purposes, located in Bloemfontein. The stadium had its capacity increased to 48,000 for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. The stadium is the home of Free State rugby as it is also home to the

, a

side which produces a large number of players for the Cheetahs franchise. A then-capacity crowd of 37,383 watched the Cheetahs in their first official Super 14 match against the Bulls on 10 February 2006. The Cheetahs also previously played matches at Griquas Park in Kimberley, the home of the Griqualand West Rugby Union, and at

North West Stadium North West Stadium (currently known as the HT Pelatona Projects Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a sports stadium in Welkom, South Africa. It is the home ground of the who compete in the Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's p ...

in Welkom, the home of the Griffons Rugby Union.

Season by season record

* Bold indicates current team player

Current squad

The Cheetahs squad for 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup is:

Coaches

* Rassie Erasmus (2006–2007) * Naka Drotské (2008–2015) *

Franco Smith Petrus Francois Smith (born 29 July 1972 in Lichtenburg, South Africa) is a former South African international rugby union player. He is now the head coach for Glasgow Warriors. His regular playing position was fly-half or centre. Playing c ...

(2016–2017) * Rory Duncan (2017–2018) *

(2018–2019) * Hawies Fourie (2019–present)

Captains

* Juan Smith (2006–2011) * Adriaan Strauss (2012–2014) * Francois Uys (2015) * Francois Venter (2016–2018) *

Oupa Mohojé Teboho Stephen 'Oupa' Mohojé (born 3 August 1990) is a South African rugby union player for the in the Pro14 and the in the Currie Cup. He can play as a flanker or lock. Career Mohojé played for the at the 2007 Under-18 Academy Week as w ...

(2018) *

Tian Meyer Tian Carel Meyer (born 20 September 1988) is a South African rugby union player for the in the Pro14 and the in the Currie Cup. He plays mostly as a scrum-half and occasionally as a Wing. He previously played for the , and domestically and ...

(2018–present)

Records

Pro14 records

The Cheetahs' Pro14 records are as follows (updated 11 February 2018):

Super Rugby records

The Cheetahs' Super Rugby records are as follows:

References

External links

* {{Rugby union in South Africa Super Rugby teams South African rugby union teams Bloemfontein Sport in the Northern Cape Sport in the Free State (province) 2005 establishments in South Africa United Rugby Championship teams