An exhilarating ‘rugby bonanza’ awaits when the Cheetahs square up against three international teams and Griquas in the Toyota Challenge in September.
The tournament, taking place between 30 September and 21 October, follows in the wake of the highly successful first edition in November 2021.
Five teams will participate in the four-match tournament. The Cheetahs will be challenging four teams in once-off matches, of which the winning team will earn R250,000, for a potential grand total of R1-million.
The Cheetahs will take on Italy A, Emerging Ireland and USA National A in their first three fixtures.
In the tournament’s last match, the Cheetahs will get the opportunity to set the record straight against their neighbours and 2022 Currie Cup finalists, the Griquas.
Italy A and the Emerging Ireland team will consist of some of the best young players in Ireland and Italy, some of whom are on the national coaches’ radar for test selection.
The USA National A side is composed of players from the Major League Rugby (MLR) teams but without their European players.
Leading up to the Challenge matches, the international teams will play in a series of friendly matches in South Africa. Italy A will play against the Griquas and the Airlink Pumas, Emerging Ireland will face the Griquas and Pumas and USA National A will take on the Pumas.
“This is very exciting for all the teams involved, and I’m sure we’ll see some open, running rugby in Bloemfontein,” SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux said.
“We are thankful for Toyota’s involvement in rugby and for creating opportunities for the game to grow in exciting new ways. It’s also great to see new talent from Emerging Ireland and Italy A and the Eagles from the USA where the game is growing, and their involvement will add something extra to this year’s Toyota Challenge.”
SuperSport will broadcast the Toyota Challenge fixtures. All matches will be streamed live by SuperSport, giving supporters abroad the opportunity to be part of the action in Toyota Stadium.
Toyota Challenge fixtures:
Friday, 30 September
4:15pm Cheetahs vs Italy A (Challenge match)
1:45pm Griquas vs Emerging Ireland
Wednesday, 5 October
5pm Pumas vs Emerging Ireland
7pm Griquas vs Italy A
Sunday, 9 October
1pm Cheetahs vs Emerging Ireland (Challenge Match)
11am Pumas vs Italy A
Friday, 14 October
6pm Cheetahs vs USA National A (Challenge Match)
Friday, 21 October
4:15pm Cheetahs vs Griquas (Challenge Match)
1:45pm Pumas vs USA National A
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images/BackpagePix
