The Toyota Cheetahs have received some welcome news ahead of their second Toyota Challenge game against the Western Force in Bloemfontein.

The head coach Hawies Fourie as well as the assistant, Charl Strydom, have extended their contracts with the franchise.

Fourie as well as Strydom have extended their stay by a further 18 months. Both coaches’ contracts were set to expire at the end of October.

Fourie told OFM Sport that having more certainty regarding his future helps a lot in planning the road forward for the team.

“I'm going to be staying at the Cheetahs along with Charl Strydom,” said Fourie.

“We'll continue to work together, but a person must also decide about your own life and career, so it's not a matter about that if one goes the other goes as well.

“I must say it was difficult when we resumed training after the Currie Cup. I didn't know where I stood with the union and I had to do planning for the home and away games against the Western Force. Regarding the European Challenge up I didn't know if was the coach for the competition.

“It was the same with our fitness trainer, Carel Bester. The two us sat and we decided to continue business as usual and to give the team and players 100 percent. It would have been selfish of us to only plan to the end of the Force games.

“We decided to do it properly and have a plan in place for if someone else came in, they could change it if they wanted to. So, we've put our plans in place up until the end of January and I'm thankful that I'm able to stay and execute that plan.”

As an assistant coach at the Cheetahs, Strydom has won the Currie Cup on six occasions, while at this stage it's unclear if Bester has extended his contract with the union.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs will face the Force on Saturday in their second game of the Toyota Challenge, with this game at the Toyota Stadium kicking off at 15:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport