Cheetahs’ chance to claw their way back

● Their respective budgets are separated by almost more digits than one hand can muster, but the Cheetahs and Toulon have been placed on a path to reclaim lost ground.

They are set for an April’s Fools Day round of 16 clash in the Challenge Cup in Toulon. It is an opportunity for the Cheetahs to continue to claw their way back to sustainable existence and the hosts to take another step to reclaiming their place among European club rugby’s aristocracy. The Cheetahs, who were deemed surplus to requirements when South Africa embraced the United Rugby Championship, have had little top level game time but they seized the moment their belated Challenge Cup invite presented. They sealed their place in the playoffs with a 9-6 win over Pau in Parma last Sunday.

Undercooked

Naturally, they went into the tournament undercooked and they had to play their “home” matches in Italy, with the language barrier and the frigid weather quickly presenting themselves as obstacles.

“The biggest challenge for us was that we didn’t play in a high-class competition preceding these matches. We only played the Toyota Challenge in October,” explained Cheetahs head coach Hawies Fourie.

Though their “home” games were in Italy, the Cheetahs still faced a taxing travel schedule. Like the other South African franchises in the European competition, they took the dreaded detour through Doha. Fourie said they had made peace with the arrangement. “The fact is, we want to tour, we want to play. The positives by far outweigh the negatives. We had to kick the door down to play in international competition again,” he stressed.

Exodus

They achieved qualification despite an enduring climate in which their players are lured elsewhere.

When stalwarts Ruan Pienaar, Frans Steyn and Oupa Mohoje were declared off limits due to injury, the Cheetahs’ chances of qualification seemed slim.

The coach is happy they will all return to fitness in the coming weeks, an opportunity to get his team battle ready for the clash.

As ever, the Cheetahs fear being short of a gallop. The Currie Cup fixture list is yet to be confirmed and the uncertainty isn’t helping Fourie. “It is frustrating to not know at this stage in the year when you are playing,” he sighed.

“The competition starts in seven weeks and we still don’t know which dates we are playing. It just doesn’t seem right. I’m waiting anxiously for those fixtures from Saru [SA Rugby Union].”