RUGBY NEWS - Cheetahs coach Frans Steyn says that his team have no excuses in this season’s Challenge Cup competition, as they kick off their campaign against Aviron Bayonnais in Bayonne, France on Sunday afternoon.

The Cheetahs have been an invitational side to the second-tier European Rugby (EPCR) competition over the past four seasons, with this set to be their fifth campaign.

Their best finishes were getting through the pool stage of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 editions, where they were dumped out in the last 16 phase, by French sides Toulon and Clermont.

The past two seasons have seen the Cheetahs‘ challenge end in the pool stage, and they will be desperate to do better this campaign, but again they will have their backs up against the wall as they play all their matches in Europe.

Due to being an invitational side, the Cheetahs have to play their games overseas, with their base previously being the Netherlands National Rugby Stadium in Amsterdam, but this season they will play their “home” games at St Helen’s Stadium in Swansea.

This season they will also be playing Zebre away in Italy in January, while hosting Dragons and Perpignan in Wales in December and January, but despite these challenges former Springbok World Cup winner Steyn believes they have what it takes to go far.

No excuses

“This year, we don’t have any excuses. We’ve got a great squad, and we need to perform. It doesn’t matter where we play, we need to stick to our game plan and execute it better than the opposition on the day,” explained Steyn.

“We’re looking forward to going to Wales later in the competition and making it our new home away from home.”

Steyn is also excited about the recent loan acquisition of Griquas star loose forward Carl Els, who played a big role in their second straight Currie Cup title run that ended last month.

“We’re all excited to have Carl Els here. He had a great Currie Cup campaign, and hopefully he finds his feet quickly in our squad and gets comfortable with our system. We want him to continue that good form, because we’re definitely going to need it against Bayonne,” said Steyn.

Cheetahs captain Neels Volschenk admitted he was well aware of the challenge that awaits his side, but was looking forward to seeing where they match up against their more illustrious opponents.

“They’ve (Bayonne) got an incredible squad with quality international players and guys who have played at the highest level. That will be a real test for us as a group, because we’ll need to match that standard,” said Volschenk.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge, and with this year’s EPCR schedule being so spread out, it will give us a good indication of where we stand.”