The Toyota Cheetahs beat the Portuguese Cartrack Lusitanos 54-24 in their opening match of the 2026 Toyota Challenge. The Cheetahs dominated the game early on, racing to a 40-10 lead at the halftime break.
Despite a wet playing surface that slowed down the game at times, the Cheetahs scored eight tries in a physical match, filled with disciplinary drama. The Cheetahs were reduced to 13 men at one stage in the first half following yellow cards to prop Tielman Nieuwoudt and flyhalf Jaco van der Walt. Interestingly, flanker Ramon Uys scored both of his tries while the Cheetahs were playing with only 14 men.
Lusitanos showed plenty of attacking intent and capitalised on the Cheetahs' early discipline issues to be awarded an early penalty try. However, their defensive vulnerabilities allowed the clinical hosts to keep pulling away.
With 20 minutes remaining and the score at 47-24, the Cheetahs cleared their bench. The final section of the match saw Lusitanos lock Duarte Nunes sent to the sin bin, with Jaco van der Walt adding a final try to cap off the 54-24 victory.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs: Tries: Jooste Nel (2), Ramon Uys (2), Louis Van der Westhuizen, Rewan Kruger, Jaco Van der Walt, Prince Nkabinde. Conversions: Jaco Van der Walt (6), Clayton Blommetjies
Lusitanos: Tries: Penalty try, Francisco Almeida, Tomas Duarte Marques. Conversions: Hugo Miguel Vitorino Cristovao. Penalty: Hugo Miguel Vitorino Cristovao
Teams:
Toyota Cheetahs: 1 Tielman Nieuwoudt, 2 Louis Van Der Westhuizen, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 4 Carl Wegner, 5 Victor Sekekete, 6 Ramon Uys, 7 Neels Volschenk, 8 Sisonke Vumazonke, 9 Rewan Kruger, 10 Jaco Van Der Walt, 11 Michael Annies, 12 Jooste Nel, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 15 Clayton Blommetjies. Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Matome Manyama, 18 Tebogo Nkosi, 19 Curtly Ambrose Thomas, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Gideon Van Der Merwe, 22 Marco Janse Van Vuren, 23 Ethan Wentzel.
Lusitanos: 1 Abel Da Cunha, 2 Pedro Santiago Lopes, 3 Afonso Tapadinhas, 4 Duarte Pedro Nunes, 6 Francisco De Almeida. 7 Andre Cunha, 8 Vasco Baptista, 9 Tomas Moreno Amado, 10 Hugo Miguel Vitorino Cristovao, 11 Alfredo Roquette Mendes De Cunha, 12 Guilherme Miguel Costa, 14 Diogo Rodrigues, 15 Tomas Duarte Marques. Replacements: 16 Pedro Gaspar Vicente, 17 Jason Cornelius, 18 Martim Do Souto, 19 Luis Carlos Avides Moreira, 20 Diego Pinheiro, 21 Pedro Guia Lucas, 22 Tomas De Barros Batista, 23 Jordan Lee Bacon.