Francois Venter says the Cheetahs don't deserve to be cut from the Super Rugby tournament.

According to reports, Sanzaar is set to reduce the competition from 18 teams to 15, with the Kings, Cheetahs and Rebels falling out.

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In an interview with Sport24, Venter urged Sanzaar to keep the Bloemfontein-based franchise in Super Rugby.

'The Free State is a central and essential province within South African rugby. The production line of talent has been immense over the years and taking the Cheetahs out of Super Rugby would kill Free State rugby,' said Venter, who is set to make his return from an ankle injury next weekend.

'We can only do our talking on the field and hopefully we can make a statement this year so that there will be no reason to exclude us from Super Rugby.

'Every player in the Free State wants to be part of this competition and play against the best talent week-in and week-out.

'I don’t mind if the administrators want to restructure the competition but the bottom line is that I don’t want us to be cut from Super Rugby.'

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