South Africa's forgotten province exploring radical new move in near future

South Africa’s forgotten province the Free State Cheetahs are actively working on a plan to join more competitive rugby per director of rugby Frans Steyn.

Following their Currie Cup semi-final defeat to the Lions, Steyn revealed that efforts are underway to secure a place in a stronger competition, with Super Rugby a potential destination.

The Cheetahs were removed from Super Rugby several years ago to accommodate South Africa’s other “big four” franchises.

This removal would force the Cheetahs to look further afield for opportunities with them eventually finding a home in the northern hemisphere’s Pro14. Despite being the trailblazers for South African Rugby, the Cheetahs would later be dumped from the competition when it became the United Rugby Championship as the Super Rugby franchises were offered the four South African slots.

Since then, the Free State team has been searching for international competition. Apart from their invitation to the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Cheetahs have largely relied on the Currie Cup and their own Toyota Challenge to stay competitive.

However, Steyn is optimistic about a return to Super Rugby despite concerns over potential political obstacles.

“I am pushing hard to go south,” Steyn said at the post-match press conference. “Politics is a massive thing in rugby and I am starting to learn it as I go. It’s flippin tough. We are out of 2025, I am actually lucky we are not going (in 2025) because I told people we will pay for our own flights and their flights, so I am relieved we are not in, otherwise I would’ve had to find money and probably start robbing banks,” Steyn joked.

“But there is a chat going on. I just hope the politics in rugby must not block us. We will do our own thing, we will find people who want to support us. But we must just not be blocked.

“I think if we go south, it will be good for South Africa and the Currie Cup. If two or three teams go south then we will have a North vs South Currie Cup competition. I am working on it, but there is a lot of politics and stuff going on, so we will have to wait and see.