Cheetahs eager to give Springboks a run for their money

The Cheetahs are keen to have a pop at the World Cup-winning Springboks in the Sharks team when they face off in a Challenge Cup clash n Sunday.

The Cheetahs and Shark both won their opening games of the Challenge Cup tournament, with the former lashing Zebre 33-15 and the latter dispatching Pau 45-5.

Now the two South African sides are on a collision course in round two of the European competition in Bloemfontein on Sunday. And on paper it looks like a bit of a mismatch, because the Sharks line-up is filled with Springbok World Cup winners.

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And the challenge of testing themselves against some of the best players in the world has everyone in the Cheetahs camp excited, according to head coach Hawies Fourie.

“We will have a look at that [performance of the Sharks] and see how we can adapt in the game against the Sharks. I haven’t seen their game yet, I will watch it when we travel back,” Fourie was quoted in the media post-match this weekend.

“But they’ve beaten Pau by a big margin and they’ve got all their Springboks back so they will be a very tough team to take on next week Sunday.

“It is a big challenge for us to play against a team with a lot of Springboks and the quality they have, but that’s why you want to play in a competition like this, is to play against very good teams with big names to measure yourselves.”

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Ruan Pienaar, Cheetahs
Ruan Pienaar of the Toyota Cheetahs during the 2023 Currie Cup Final between the Cheetahs and the Pumas at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State on 24 June 2023 © Charle Lombard/BackpagePix

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