The Free Staters returned to South Africa on Sunday, licking their wounds after a bruising opening to their European campaign, which saw them suffer heavy defeats to Exeter Chiefs in England and Stade Français in Amsterdam in the first two rounds of the competition.

While the Cheetahs were always facing a steep learning curve against Exeter away from home, Saturday’s 45–22 defeat to Stade Français in the Netherlands would have cut a lot deeper. 

Having worked their way back into the contest and put themselves in a position to threaten a famous upset, the Bloemfontein outfit let it slip after the break.

?? #ChallengeCupRugby @ChallengeCup_
?? L’essai complètement fou de Nel pour les Cheetahs face au Stade Français !
?? 15 secondes, tout le terrain remonté… spectaculaire ! pic.twitter.com/0pwNZ3Zrj0

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) December 13, 2025

The match at the NRCA Stadium started poorly for the Cheetahs, who struggled to gain a foothold at scrum time as the French giants asserted early dominance. That pressure translated into points, with Stade Français racing out to a 14–3 lead inside the opening 21 minutes.

However, the visitors showed real character in the closing stages of the first half. A strong final ten minutes saw the Cheetahs wrestle back momentum and snatch a 17–14 lead at the break, thanks to tries from captain Chucky van der Westhuizen and outside centre Munier Hartzenberg.

Any hopes of building on that advantage were quickly dashed straight after half-time. A disastrous start to the second stanza saw the Cheetahs concede two soft tries in quick succession, swinging the momentum firmly back in Stade Français’ favour and effectively spelling the beginning of the end for the Free Staters.

The Parisians went on to cross for two more tries to put the result beyond doubt. The lone bright spark on an otherwise difficult afternoon was a sensational try by Jandré Nel right at the death, sparked by Hartzenberg deep inside the Cheetahs’ own in-goal area. It was vintage, high-tempo Cheetahs rugby – the kind of moment they will hope to draw confidence from as they look ahead.

Speaking to OFM Sport after the defeat in the Dutch capital, head coach Frans Steyn admitted his side knew they would be punching above their weight but stressed the need to learn how to grind harder when opportunities present themselves.

“We must never forget they’re fourth on the log in France, so they’re not there because they’re a bad team,” said Steyn, who knows French rugby well.

Thibaut Motassi scored a brace of tries for Stade Français. Photo: Stade Français

“The disappointing thing for me is that, after starting poorly, we were still in it at half-time and then we couldn’t move on from that.”

Steyn added that the Cheetahs had put themselves in a position to claim a crucial result, only for unforced errors and poor execution to once again prove their Achilles heel.

“I genuinely thought we had them. We had an opportunity to slaughter a giant, and we didn’t take it, and that’s the most disappointing part.

“With a couple more of those moments and fewer mistakes in between, it could have been different – but right now it’s not fun.”

Louis Foursans-Bourdette landed six conversions and a penalty for Stade Français. Photo: Stade Français

The coach emphasised that there would be no quick fix or mental reset, but rather a thorough dissection of what went wrong as the team prepares for their return to Europe early next year.

“We’re not going to hit the reset button. We’re going to think about this one for a while and play it over and over so we don’t make the same mistakes again,” Steyn said.

“We’ve got a great side, but we need to start playing more to our strengths than our weaknesses and deliver proper performances.”

The Cheetahs’ next Challenge Cup fixture is scheduled for 11 January 2026, when they take on Northern Irish outfit Ulster at the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs