The Toyota Cheetahs made a big statement on the weekend by claiming a historic win over Section Paloise in Pau, France, during round one of the European Challenge Cup.
The match, close to the picturesque Pyrenees mountains, was the Cheetahs’ first game back in a major international competition since February 2020, when they lost to the Dragons in Newport in the then Guinness PRO14.
On Saturday, the Cheetahs got off to a nervy start against the French Top14 team, and although their discipline was much better than normal in recent years, the team from Bloemfontein conceded a few kickable penalties to trail 9-3 at the halftime break.
During the second half, the Cheetahs switched to their more familiar brand of running and expansive rugby as the conditions allowed for this. It was rewarded with the flankers Daniel Maartens and Oupa Mohoje crashing over for tries. This ultimately led to the Cheetahs gaining the lead and holding on for a famous 21-16 victory.
Unfortunately, this win came at a price with the two-time World Cup-winning Springbok, Frans Steyn, sustaining a hamstring injury which has seen him return to Bloemfontein. On the flip side of the coin, the injury to the seasoned veteran is not all that bad and although he won’t be able to play this week against Scarlets in Parma, Italy, he is being rested as a precaution.
That being said – Mohoje may not be in contention for the match against the Welsh team as he was cited for a dangerous tackle in the 26th minute of the match and he was set to appear before a disciplinary committee on Wednesday.
The versatile forward, Friedle Olivier, had a big game for the Cheetahs against Pau and this earned him a second, consecutive man of the match performance. Olivier also claimed the honours during the recent Toyota Challenge game against the Griquas in Bloemfontein.
During the match against Pau, the big loose-forward – who is equally comfortable at lock – made a total of 21 carries and put in 14 completed tackles. In total, he made 50 metres with his carries.
Olivier, who only joined the Cheetahs a few months ago from Russia, told Bloemfontein Courant that all the hard work on and off the field paid off and they believe that they can only get better going forward.
“It was a very tough and hard-fought win in which the boys dug deep,” said the big ball-carrier.
“Everybody worked very hard to get the win and we are glad that we were able to pull it through. With it being our first game back in Europe, it was even more special.
“We are on the right track and we do have a lot of confidence from the win, although there is still a lot of work to do and build on.
“The positive thing is that we are off to a winning start and from here on we can just get better and better.”
The Cheetahs’ match on Saturday at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi kicks off at 17:15.
*At the time of print, Mohoje had not yet appeared before the disciplinary committee. – MORGAN PIEK
