SA Rugby must now honour the promise they made to the Cheetahs

It’s time that South African rugby bosses made good on their promises and got the Cheetahs playing international rugby.

It is sad that one of the country’s best unions continue to play only domestically in the Currie Cup. The Cheetahs simply have to play against overseas opposition – they’re too good to not be playing internationally.

When they were kicked out of the Pro14 (now the United Rugby Championship), and before that Super Rugby – to allow the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers in – the SA Rugby chiefs promised them a spot in an international competition. Well, nothing’s come of that, and it doesn’t look like anything of the sort is in their future – or for the Pumas and Griquas, for that matter.

The fact of the matter is the Cheetahs are still, despite losing so many players and having little to aim for, one of this country’s top teams.

They’re again top of the Currie Cup log and have so far answered all the questions asked about them. Yes, the Currie Cup is not a full-on strength versus strength competition, but even so, they have won against very good teams, many of which have fielded outfits full of URC players.

I firmly believe the Cheetahs can still add plenty of value to a big competition and while there will be questions about their depth and sustainability, if they were to be given the go-ahead to play in an international series they’d be in a better position to recruit and keep players.

And we all know that, even if they lose their best men to other sides, history has shown they will simply unearth more talent. They have an uncanny knack of finding talented rugby players, and are seemingly always competitive, even if against the odds.

Think here in recent times of Ox Nche and Oupa Mohoje, and how many others who’ve starred for the Boks over the years who have come out of the Cheetahs set-up. And there’s also a good reason why Ruan Pienaar and Frans Steyn are still playing in Bloemfontein when they could possibly be earning more elsewhere: they’re happy at the union.

The Cheetahs certainly adapted to Pro14 rugby (URC) quicker than the current four teams did, proof of how adaptable they are and how willing the players are to learn and adjust to different environments and opponents.

It’s time some promises were fulfilled. Look at how well they’re performing now, with no incentive.

Imagine if the players and coaches had something else to aim for, strive for, imagine how that team would then perform. They could plan properly, keep their best players, and look to strengthen from the outside, too. 

There are some exciting young talents in the current Cheetahs team, but if these men don’t have something bigger to play for, against better opposition, they’re going to be knocking on someone else’s door very soon.