Rugby
FS Cheetahs away to Bulls in Currie Cup opener─── MORGAN PIEK 16:27 Thu, 28 Feb 2019
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs will open their 2019 Currie Cup campaign away from home when they tackle the Blue Bulls in Pretoria.
The first round match will be played at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on 19 July.
Eight days later they will play in their first home game of the campaign when they host their neighbours, the Tafel Lager Griquas at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
There will also be home matches against the Golden Lions and Western Province.
On the road, they will tackle champions, the Sharks, and the Pumas as well.
The semi-final of the single round competition will take place on 31 August, with the final taking place a week later.
The CEO of Cheetahs rugby, Harold Verster, told OFM Sport that with the Currie Cup and Pro14 not overlapping, they can field their strongest team in both competitions.
“It is critical. We are a small entity, a small franchise, and a small union with a limited number of players, so to have two competitions overlapping is just not on for us.
“We tried it, we thought we could make it, but it was just not on.
“With the two competitions not overlapping, we can play in the Currie Cup with a full Pro14 team and squad.
“That will assist us in making the Currie Cup our flagship competition again, with Pro14 being our international competition.”
Meanwhile, the SuperSport Rugby Challenge will kick-off at the end of April, and the Toyota Free State XI’s first match is scheduled for the same day the Cheetahs host the Southern Kings in their final round-robin match of the Prot14. The venue for this game is yet to be confirmed.
Currie Cup Fixtures:
19 July - Blue Bulls vs. Free State Cheetahs, Loftus Versfeld, 19:15.
27 July – Free State Cheetahs vs. Tafel Lager Griquas, Toyota Stadium, 15:00.
2 August – Free State Cheetahs vs. Golden Lions, Toyota Stadium, 19:15.
10 August – Sharks vs Free State Cheetahs, Kings’ Park, 15:00.
17 August – Pumas vs. Free State Cheetahs, Mbombela Stadium, 14:00.
24 August – Free State Cheetahs vs. Western Province, Toyota Stadium, 17:15.
31 August – Semi-final TBC
7 September – Final, TBC
SuperSport Rugby Challenge Fixtures:
27 April – Free State XV vs. Sharks, TBC
4 May – Free State XV vs. Pumas, TBC
11 May – Golden Lions vs. Free State XV, TBC
17 May – Free State XV vs. Blue Bulls, TBC
25 May – Western Province vs. Free State XV, TBC
1 June – Griquas vs. Free State XV, TBC
@MorganPiek OFM Sport
