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Free State Cheetahs
The Free State Cheetahs, also known as the Toyota Free State Cheetahs for sponsorship purposes, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the Currie Cup.
Read on to discover everything there is to know about the Free State Cheetahs. On this page you can read a detailed history of the side and an analysis of the current Free State Cheetahs squad. You can also view the team's upcoming fixtures and recent results.
The history of the Free State Cheetahs team can be traced back to 1895, when the Orange Free State Rugby Union was formed. At this point, the team was known as Orange Free State.
Despite the team's long history, the side did not make the Currie Cup final until 1973. Following this, they became the 'nearly men', losing in the Currie Cup final in 1973 and 1975. However, only one season later, the team finally captured their first Currie Cup title, when they defeated Western Province in the final.
After this, Orange Free State lost in a further six Currie Cup finals in a row. But, the start of the professional era (and a change of name to the Free State Cheetahs) saw a change in fortune. After losing in the 2004 final of the competition, the team won the title three years in a row between 2005 and 2007. They also claimed further titles in 2016 and 2019.
Today, the Free State Cheetahs team is regarded as a major force in the Currie Cup. The side plays its home games at the Free State Stadium, where up to 48,000 fans can watch the side.
Since 1912, more than 80 players who have represented the Orange Free State or the Free State Cheetahs have gone on to represent the Springboks, including legends of South African rugby such as Os du Randt, Rassie Erasmus and Juan Smith.
Today, the Free State Cheetahs squad is incredibly strong and it includes several stars of South African rugby, such as Ruan Pienaar and François Steyn. In addition to this, the squad also contains a number of other players who have been capped at the international level, including Oupa Mohojé and Rosko Specman.