SA Rugby have to do more to help Cheetahs stay relevant

SA Rugby have to do more to help the Cheetahs stay relevant as one of the country’s top unions after they claimed the Currie Cup title after a thrilling final against the Pumas on Saturday.

The Cheetahs have had an extremely tough time of it over the past few years, and are almost seen as the black sheep of the top SA rugby franchises, with them able to compete with the likes of the Lions, but not given the same recognition.

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This is clearly shown by how the Cheetahs were thrown out of Super Rugby in 2016 and then Pro (now URC) rugby in 2019, with them now not involved in an international franchise competition.

After their title win on Saturday night former Springbok stalwart Ruan Pienaar gave a short but scathing assessment of SA Rugby’s inaction in helping the Cheetahs get back to international franchise rugby, in a conversation with the SuperSport commentators after the game.

“Our people and team needed this. It’s been a rough few years since Covid. We’ve been kicked out of competitions and we had to fight for our own survival. I don’t think anyone knows what happens out there (behind the scenes),” said Pienaar.

“There has been no help from SA Rugby. So we are glad that we could do it for the people from Bloemfontein.”

Major boost

The Cheetahs did receive a major boost over the past season when they were included in the Challenge Cup competition as an invitational side.

While it was a big help it still is not the answer as the Cheetahs only played five games in it, before they were knocked out of the competition by French giants Toulon in the last 16.

Being in essence a knockout competition it is not sustainable enough for the Cheetahs, as they play barely any games during the time of the competition which means they head into many of those matches cold.

They are also not guaranteed a place in the competition, with the coming season yet to confirm who the two invitational sides taking part will be.

SA Rugby thus has to do so much more to help the Cheetahs get something more permanent, so that they do not become a minnow of SA rugby due to the lack of support.