Super Rugby giants the Crusaders could visit Bloemfontein later this year to compete against the Cheetahs in the Toyota Challenge.
On Monday, the Cheetahs announced that the tournament will be played again this year and they plan to host it twice.
In an attempt to improve on last year’s successful tournament, the Cheetahs are looking to rope in better opponents from around the globe in the form of the Crusaders and Toyota Verblitz from Japan.
Cheetahs CEO Ross van Reenen told OFM Sport that the Bloemfontein side want to improve the competition among the teams in the tournament, while also admitting that the chances of entering a major international tournament this year is very slim.
“I’m not making promises that we are going to play in an international competition this year,” said Van Reenen.
“However, we are going to host two Toyota Challenges this year. We are going to bring in some serious teams. We are talking about teams like the Crusaders and possibly the Toyota Verblitz in Japan.”
In November 2021, the Cheetahs hosted the inaugural Toyota Challenge which featured the Sharks, Western Province, Baia Mare of Romania, and Diables Barcelona from Spain.
The Cheetahs hope to include the Vodacom Bulls and Lions as the two local teams in this year’s Toyota Challenge.
3 wins from 4 #ToyotaChallenge matches for @CheetahsRugby ?⚪️
Cheetahs 30 – 31 Western Province XV ❌
Cheetahs 99 – 15 Diables Barcelona ✅
Cheetahs 40 – 34 Sharks ✅
Cheetahs 54 – 5 Baia Mare ✅ pic.twitter.com/vyDYUi9mSY
— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) November 26, 2021
