The Cheetahs are set to hear at the end of April whether they will be involved in a ‘B-division’ of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
The Free State side has been in limbo since they were excluded from the PRO14 two years ago along with the now-extinct Southern Kings franchise.
While the Cheetahs have been actively searching for a European competition to join, they were also left out when the Sharks, Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Lions joined the PRO14 to form the new URC.
Since then, the Cheetahs have been left without an international competition, only competing on the domestic front in the Currie Cup.
However, in an interview with Sunday newspaper Rapport, coach Hawies Fourie said the Cheetahs are hopeful of receiving further clarity over their potential participation in a Shield Series of the URC.
“There is a meeting at the end of April with role players for a kind of B-division for the URC,” said Fourie.
“It will be called the United Rugby Shield. However, it is not in our hands. SA Rugby has to come to the party. It’s been coming for a long time now. We have been promised since December 2020 that there will be a competition.
“We have been two years further since the promise, so it’s a long time for us. But it looks promising, so we hope it will happen and that things will be finalised by the end of the month. ”
Photo: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
