VS CHEETAHS 13 1APRIL SEP 14:00 • 19:35 BLOEMFONTEIN CONTENTS CHEETAHS TOYOTA CHEETAHS EDITORIAL TEAM Guinness PRO14 Welcome Message Ronel Pienaar Kobus le Roux Toyota Sponsor’s Message Chantelle du Plessis Free State Rugby Union Message ADVERTISING AND SUITES Wilna Jurack Free State Cheetahs (Pty) Ltd Message 084 854 4492 Toyota Cheetahs Player Profiles PHOTOGRAPHY Johan Pretorius Toyota Free State XV vs Griffons (Warm-Up Fixture) TOYOTA CHEETAHS Toyota Cheetahs vs Dragons MARKETING MANAGER Kobus le Roux Guinness PRO14 Fixtures & Results COPYRIGHT The official Cheetahs programme is compiled by Yskoud.com under license from Cheetahs (Pty) Ltd. All registered trademarks remain the property of Cheetahs and are used with Cheetahs permission. The views expressed in this programme are not necessarily those of Yskoud.com or Cheetahs. All right reserved. No part of this programme may be reproduced in any form, without the prior arrangement of the Cheetahs. CheetahsRugby www.facebook.com/CheetahsRugby @CheetahsRugby www.fscheetahs.co.za Crunch time is well and truly upon us with two rounds to play in the Guinness PRO14 and so much is yet to be decided, which is just how we like it as the potential line-ups for the Final Series keep switching up. There are some absolute blockbusters this weekend with Connacht hosting Cardi Blues in Galway in a must-win game for both teams. Ulster go back to Scotland for the second week in a row, this time to face Edinburgh, as the Conference B rivals duel for a knock-out spot, Munster visit high-flying Benetton and both conference leaders – Leinster and Glasgow Warriors – face o in Dublin. Who would have predicted back in the summer that some of these fixtures would have so much riding on them? Looking to the game at the Sportsground is the one that really gets the juices flowing. Connacht, champions of 2016, can return to the knock-out stages of the Guinness PRO14 and the European Champions Cup with a win over Blues. But for the visitors, a season which started so slowly can kick into high gear with a win on the Atlantic coast. Four points separate the teams and an away win means both teams would have to pick a ‘W’ on derby day in Round 21. Interesting, too, that a Cardi Blues victory would likely bring Ospreys right back into the mix for the Guinness PRO14 Final Series with both teams then facing each other on Judgement Day! That’s one side of the story in Conference A where we also have Glasgow Warriors and Munster scrapping for a home Semi-Final and both have tricky away trips to contend with against Leinster and Benetton, respectively. Over in Conference B, Edinburgh remain in must-win territory ahead of their final day clash with derby rivals Glasgow and they welcome an Ulster team who are trying to ward o Benetton in order to claim a home quarter-final. Oh, and Scarlets? Maximum points from the final two games gives them a chance of reaching the knock-out stages as well, so you just can’t take your eyes o the fixture list this weekend. Incredibly, the consolation prize on oer for some of these teams will be the opportunity to battle it out in the Play-O for our final Champions Cup spot, so the intensity will not let up over the next two rounds. As I mentioned the race for the Final Series is reaching fever pitch and with Leinster already qualified with a home Semi-Final it’s going to take a serious eort to wrestle the trophy away from them – but the Guinness PRO14 is becoming more unpredictable each season so this year’s winners could yet come from Scotland, Italy or Wales. Of course, the Guinness PRO14 Final is coming up into view at Celtic Park on May 25 and without even makingKAARTJIES a tackle AANLYNyou can BESKIKBAARguarantee your - www.fscheetahs.co.za place by going direct to bit.ly/glasgow2019 to get your tickets. The Guinness PRO14 Final has become a great event for supporters of all our clubs and if you fancy treating yourself, or perhaps surprising that passionate rugby fan in your life, then a trip to Celtic Park on May 25 should do the trick! Enjoy the game, Martin Anayi Chief Executive Ocer TOYOTA SPONSOR’S MESSAGE Welcome to today’s Guinness Pro 14 match with a brand of rugby everybody adores and here at Toyota Stadium. loves. We are approaching the backend of another We will be monitoring the Toyota Cheetahs thrilling Pro14 tournament and this time very closely and our expectations of Franco around it has without a doubt been the tough- Smith and his charges will be very high. est yet for the Toyota Cheetahs, but one in which a lot of important work was done in We are confident that they will play their hearts order to lead the team into the future. out and make us and all their supporters proud. The expectations were exceedingly high, especially when one takes into account that To the opposition – welcome to Toyota during their debut season in the Pro14 they Stadium. The battles will be tough and uncom- managed to reach the playoffs. promising, but we are sure you will experience some of our world-famous Free State hospitali- The 2018/19 season was deemed to be a ty during your stay. rebuilding season and with this nearly complete, it is time to move on to the next And lastly, but certainly not least, to our loyal phase, and that will be the execution phase. fans who support the team week in and out, Once again we will be walking this tough, yet thank you for your exceptional undying exciting journey alongside the Toyota Chee- support for the Toyota Cheetahs. You are the tahs. heartbeat of the stadium, the inspiration for the players and without you, rugby would be a We are proud to announce that we have lot poorer. Thank you again for supporting our extended our partnership with the Toyota team. Cheetahs for a further three years. This contract will still include the title sponsorship for the Toyota Cheetahs Pro14, Currie Cup, SuperSport Rugby Challenge and junior Enjoy the match. teams. The sponsorship also includes the naming rights of Toyota Stadium, an icon in Bloemfon- tein and the Free State, as well as the naming rights of the Toyota Cheetah Academy, the breeding ground of the next generation Toyota Cheetah players. This will take our partnership with the Toyota Cheetahs to over a decade and in an econom- Andrew Kirby ic climate which sees Super Rugby teams President and CEO battling to sign deals for the upcoming season, of Toyota South Africa we can say that we are proud to be associated FREE STATE RUGBY UNION MESSAGE CHEETAHS Today marks a special day for sport in Toyota Cheetahs as well as all the the Free State. In a first for the two other sponsors without whom we sports, in the province, a multi-code cannot be successful. festival which includes a friendly match between the Toyota Free State May you all enjoy this day and XV and the Griffons, the opening leg especially the camaraderie of rugby of the Athletics Grand Prix Series at friends. 17:30 followed by Guinness PRO14 rugby. Your Sincerely It is an honour for Free State Rugby to be taking hands with Athletics and to be part of this special occasion. The people of the Free State love their sport and now they have the opportunity to witness elite sportsmanship at one event. Today we welcome our opponents, from Wales, the Dragons to Toyota Stadium. We hope that you’ve Jerry Segwaba enjoyed your stay in the City of Roses. President Welcome to our loyal supporters and sponsors to Toyota Stadium. Thank you for your wonderful support. Your support encourages the team and motivates them to reach bigger heights. A very special word of thanks to Toyota for their sponsorship of the CHARLES MARAIS FREE STATE CHEETAHS (PTY) LTD MESSAGE CHEETAHS It is an honour for me to welcome With only one match remaining after this everyone to tonight’ Guinness PRO14 round the Toyota Cheetahs are highly match against the Welsh team, the motivated to finish the competition on a Dragon. It is the first time since the Toyota memorable note. Cheetahs’ inclusion in Guinness PRO14 that we welcome the Dragons in We wish Franco and his team well with the Bloemfontein. We hope that you’ve encounter tonight. experience our warm hospitality in the Free State. We hope that everyone will enjoy the event with us. We are excited to be hosting today’s sport extravaganza with a SuperSport Challenge friendly against the Griffons, Athletics’ Grand Prix Series and Guinness PRO14 as part of the same event. I want to extend a special word of welcome to all our sponsors, suite holders, season ticket holders and loyal Ryno Opperman supporters to Toyota Stadium. We are Chairman fortunate to have a great sponsor in Toyota South Africa. HENCO VENTER TOYOTA CHEETAHS PLAYER PROFILES CHEETAHS 1 12 13 PROP HOOKER PROP 120 kg 108kg 120 kg 1.71 m 1.75 m 1.83 m 36 caps 17 caps 10 caps CHARLES MARAIS JOSEPH DWEBA LUAN DE BRUIN 14 15 16 LOCK LOCK FLANK 121 kg 115 kg 105 kg 2.03 m 2.09 m 1.89 m 17 caps 18 caps 18 caps WALT STEENKAMP JP DU PREEZ GERHARD OLIVIER 17 18 19 FLANK NO. 8 SCRUMHALF 108 kg 109 kg 88 kg 1.94 m 1.93 m 1.84 m 13 caps 21 caps 34 caps ABONGILE NONKONTWANA HENCO VENTER SHAUN VENTER 101 111 121 FLYHALF WING CENTRE 89 kg 83 kg 97 kg 1.82 m 1.81 m 1.84 m 19 caps 26 caps 6 caps TIAN SCHOEMAN RABZ MAXWANE DRIES SWANEPOEL TOYOTA CHEETAHS PLAYER PROFILES CHEETAHS 131 141 151 CENTRE WING FULLBACK 88 kg 85 kg 72 kg 1.85 m 1.77 m 1.74 m 18 caps 29 caps 16 caps BENHARD JANSE VAN RENSBURG TIAN MEYER (c) MALCOLM JAER 161 171 181 RESERVE RESERVE RESERVE 111 kg 120 kg 120 kg 1.87 m 1.86 m 1.83 m 6 caps 41 caps 10 caps MARNUS VAN DER MERWE ARANOS COETZEE REINACH VENTER