Head coach Hawies Fourie believes the Cheetahs have the perfect opportunity playing star-studded sides in the Challenge Cup to prove their worth as a top-tier team.
Having demonstrated competitiveness against eventual winners Toulon last season, Fourie emphasises that a Currie Cup victory in 2023 won’t suffice, and aims to elevate the Free Staters’ international standing through the EPCR competition.
Despite recent challenges, Fourie’s contract has been extended until June 2025, with key players committed for the next two years. The Cheetahs, seeking improvement from their previous Challenge Cup performance, target the quarter-finals.
Their first home game is against the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon, with Amsterdam as their official home ground for this season’s competition.
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“The Challenge Cup is a place where the Cheetahs can make a name for themselves,” Fourie told Sunday newspaper Rapport.
“In the Currie Cup there are always people who say the Springboks were unavailable and it was a World Cup year. You are doing well, but there is always a ‘but’.
“In this competition there is no ‘but’. The teams are really good and if we can show that we are good enough, I feel we can open a door for the Cheetahs in the future.”
He added: “I felt we won the Currie Cup and you want to keep that consistency.
“Last year we did well in the Challenge Cup and this year might be a little more difficult, but we had a good start.”
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