The team from Bloemfontein are out of contention for the semi-finals and for now their season will finish in the capital city.

The coach, Hawies Fourie, hinted that the Cheetahs may well be back in action in Europe as soon as December if all goes according to plan.

The Cheetahs, who were somewhat controversially booted from the Guinness PRO14 in 2020, may find themselves competing in the European Challenge Cup.

Fourie said that while nothing is set in stone, the Challenge Cup, could be on the cards. They are planning to play in a series of matches in November in preparation for a return to the Northern Hemisphere.

“We really hope to play in the Challenge Cup. There's a lot of speculation that we might actually be able to participate in this season's edition. But it still needs to be confirmed, so we're waiting for that.

“This year's competition is planned to start in mid-December and we are working on a plan to organise games for ourselves in November.

“There are two plans on the table in terms of warm-up matches. We can invite two teams from Eastern Europe and if they can come, along with another South African team, we can play in double-headers and everyone can play three matches.

“The other option is to play local teams. They've got a month’s break between matches in the Ultimate Rugby Challenge in November. I'm sure that some of them would be keen to stay busy and play a friendly or two.

“I always felt that was a problem for me in the PRO14. You never had the opportunity to play games where you could give the fringe players or a player returning from an injury the opportunity to regain some match fitness. I certainly would've appreciated that.”

An official announcement is expected in due course. 

@MorganPiek OFM Sport