THE FINAL vs CHEETAHS SATURDAY • 7 SEPTEMBER • 17:00 TOYOTA STADIUM • BLOEMFONTEIN CONTENTS CHEETAHS TOYOTA CHEETAHS EDITORIAL TEAM SA Rugby President 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 FS Cheetahs Player Profiles PHOTOGRAPHY Johan Pretorius Toyota FS Cheetahs vs Lions TOYOTA CHEETAHS Currie Cup Fixtures & Results MARKETING MANAGER Kobus le Roux 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 SA RUGBY PRESIDENT MESSAGE Good afternoon and welcome to this Thanks to the fans who have come to the Currie Cup match, proudly brought to stadium to support these teams. You are you by DirectAxis Financial Services. not only showing your support for them, but for the Currie Cup and South African The Currie Cup is one of the oldest rugby, and for that we are very grateful. competitions in world rugby, and we are delighted that the rich history, tradition Your support will assist us in ensuring that and passion associated with the the Currie Cup remains steeped in history competition and trophy still remains as one of the greatest competitions in the following the tournament’s inception in world, and one that your children, 1891. grandchildren and great grandchildren will be passionate about for many years to In the coming weeks the teams will give come. everything in the name of their team-mates and their provinces, and for I would like to extend a special thanks to all of the players it will mark a memorable the provincial unions for all your hard occasion. work to ensure that your teams are well equipped to do their best on the field and Holding the Currie Cup aloft remains one for your contribution to keeping South of the biggest honours and achievements African rugby fresh and exciting. for teams in South African rugby, and we are excited to see the participating sides stake a claim for a place in the final Enjoy the rugby! stages in attempt to reach this feat. Once again every game will be vital and every point will count as the competition features an action-packed single round. I would like to wish the teams and match officials good luck for the match and for the rest of the competition, and I have no doubt that they will deliver a high Mark Alexander standard of rugby. SA Rugby President A big word of thanks also to our sponsor, DirectAxis Financial Services, now in their fourth year of sponsoring the Currie Cup. Without their support, this competition would not be possible. TOYOTA SPONSOR’S MESSAGE Welcome to today’s Currie Cup match here at you and look forward to taking the Toyota the Toyota Stadium. Cheetahs into the future with you. The Toyota It is that time of the season again where the Free State Cheetahs theme for the season is next crop of players who will one day prove “Let’s win again” and we know that this is themselves in the hallowed green-and-gold, exactly what you will deliver. test their mettle in the world’s oldest and We look forward to the start of the new season toughest domestic rugby competition. as well as the start of the new three-year For most of the teams in South Africa, Currie relationship with the Cheetahs and will contin- Cup marks the halfway stage of the season, ue to show the support we have provided over but for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs it is the past few years - not only as a sponsor but where the season begins, and with a much as a proud partner of Toyota Cheetahs. more experienced and settled squad as To the opposition – welcome to Toyota opposed to this time last year, we are expect- Stadium. We look forward to the battle on the ing nothing less than a thrilling campaign from field. It will be tough and it will also be the boys. exciting. You are all living the dream, enjoy it The Toyota Free State XV once again proved and let rugby be the big winner. themselves during the Super Sport Rugby Lastly, and most importantly, to the loyal fans, Challenge and it will be really exciting to see this is all about you. The boys cannot do this some of the standout performers take the next without your unwavering and loyal support. step in their journey as rugby players and The team has committed to making you measure themselves against a more proud. Let’s fill the stadium and show the determined opponent in the Currie Cup. world why the Toyota Cheetahs are the pride Franco Smith takes charge of the team during of the Free State. Welcome on board for this the Currie Cup in what will also be his final exciting journey, and thank you again for hooray at the Toyota Free State Cheetahs supporting the boys. before starting the next leg of his own personal Enjoy the match. journey as a coach. Knowing him, we are confident that he will want to go out with a bang and replicate the team’s feat in 2016 when they lifted the coveted Currie Cup. The man that will be taking over from him, Hawies Enjoy the match. Fourie, will also be assisting the team during the tournament, and his expertise will definitely be invaluable during their quest. Tian Meyer will be leading the boys onto the park this season, and he will have several strong leaders to help him in his duty. With the strong leadership core, we are confident that the players will prove themselves to be outstanding ambassadors for the Toyota Cheetahs both on and off the field. To Franco Smith, Tian Meyer, the rest of the Andrew Kirby coaches and the players, we stand alongside President and CEO FREE STATE RUGBY UNION MESSAGE CHEETAHS Good afternoon and welcome to culmination of all your hard work the highly anticipated Currie Cup and preparation made this day final which is back in Bloemfontein possible. after three years! To our loyal fans, who turn up to This is an exciting day for Free support the team time and again State Rugby and our supporters. no matter what the result, we Today will mark the third Currie salute you. Remember you are the Cup final between the Toyota Free catalyst for the team’s performance State Cheetahs and the Golden and they feed of your energy, your Lions, all here in Bloemfontein. passion and your love for the game. Thank you for once again We welcome our opponents and being the heartbeat of this team. their supporters to Bloemfontein. We hope that you enjoy the May you all enjoy this day and hospitality of Toyota Stadium and especially the camaraderie of our wonderful city. rugby friends. The Free State Rugby is also proud to be hosting the SA Rugby Championship final for u.21‘s between the Blue Bulls and Western Province. Once again we promise a fierce battle on the field, and lots of friendship off the field. I would like to extend my appreciation to all the SA Rugby Jerry Segwaba and Free State Rugby staff - the President : Free State Rugby Union JUNIOR POKOMELA FREE STATE CHEETAHS (PTY) LTD MESSAGE CHEETAHS On behalf of the Free State Cheetahs with an exciting brand of rugby and (Pty) Ltd, it is my pleasure to welcome we wish Franco and his team the best all of you the 2019 Currie Cup final in of luck for today’s match. May the Toyota Stadium. I would like to extend best team win. a friendly welcome to our visitors from the city of gold. I would also like to extend a special thanks to our title sponsor, Toyota. It A special word of gratitude to our is fantastic to have you on board. The sponsors, dignitaries, fans and same goes to all our other sponsors organizational members who and partners. contributed to this day throughout the season. We value the presence of My hope is that you will enjoy this each and everyone here today. special day and that you will leave with fond memories. This is an exciting day for Free State Rugby and our die-hard rugby fans as we witness the 15th Currie Cup final for the Free State side, and the 8th in Bloemfontein. Thank you to all the loyal fans and to everyone who made their way to Toyota Stadium today. Ryno Opperman We are proud of our team’s Chairman performance this season and although they kept us on the edge of our seats, especially in the last two matches, they certainly entertained us DRIES SWANEPOEL TOYOTA FS CHEETAHS PLAYER PROFILES CHEETAHS 1 12 13 PROP HOOKER PROP 114 kg 105 kg 118 kg 1.75 m 1.75 m 1.90 m 25 caps 18 caps 7 caps OX NCHE JOSEPH DWEBA ERICH DE JAGER 14 15 16 LOCK LOCK FLANK 109 kg 125 kg 106 kg 1.97 m 2.03 m 1.89 m 7 caps 7 caps 22 caps SINTU MANJEZI WALT STEENKAMP GERHARD OLIVIER 17 18 19 FLANK NO.