Baia Mare will also be in action against the Cheetahs next week Friday in the Toyota Challenge.

For Baia Mare it is their first-ever tour to South Africa and they are relishing the opportunity to learn from the local teams.

The coach, Eugen Apjok, told OFM Sport that they are here in order to grow their own game.

“We have a lot of work to do while we are here and we mustn’t forget that we are in the country of the world champions.

“It will be a different style of play and intensity that we can expect.

“But we need these kinds of games to grow up. It's not very good to play against the same teams every year.

“We need another challenge and we need to take this opportunity with two hands.”

Earlier in the week the Cheetahs coach, Hawies Fourie, indicated that welcoming teams like Baia Mare and Diables Barcelona of Spain to Bloemfontein could get them a foot back into international rugby, while it’s also important to develop the game.

Apjok, who represent Romania in Test rugby as a flyhalf, added that he and the team would love to welcome the Cheetahs to their country, but first they as a team must prove themselves.

“For sure, I hope that it will be like this. We need this kind of challenge and they need to be able play against a different style and I think that everybody will have something to learn from these kinds of games.

“I will be really happy if the Cheetahs can come to our country, but first we need to prove that we belong here and we need to play our best game of rugby.”

Saturday morning’s match between the Free State XV and Baia Mare at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 10:00. This game will serve as a curtain-raiser to the match between the Cheetahs and Sharks, which kicks off at 14:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport