Springbok icon Frans Steyn will be living vicariously through the Toyota Cheetahs on Saturday night when they attempt to punch their ticket to the EPCR Challenge Cup knock-out stages in a decisive showdown against Lyon.
The Cheetahs are in Lyon - France's gastronomic capital situated approximately 150 kilometres west of the Swiss border - to prepare for the match against their Top 14 hosts at Matmut Stadium.
A Bok legend for his exploits in winning the 2007 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, en route to earning 78 Test caps between 2006 and 2022, Steyn has served as the Cheetahs director of rugby since October 2023.
The appointment completed the circle of his rugby journey – he caught the eye of Bok coach Jake White as a schoolboy star at Bloemfontein’s rugby factory, Grey College, and wrapped up his illustrious career back in the City of Roses representing the Cheetahs.
In between, Steyn played club rugby for the Sharks, Racing 92 (59 appearances), Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo (21 appearances) and Montpellier (102 appearances), and it was his two stints in France’s Top 14 that forged his respect for Matmut Stadium.
“I played there when I was at Montpellier, and lost,” said the 37-year-old. “It’s one place that I couldn’t win - it’s a really tough place to go and get a win.”
The Cheetahs must win to advance to the Round of 16. Following a season-opening 20-20 stalemate against USAP in Amsterdam, a 26-10 loss in Cardiff and last week’s dramatic 22-18 victory against visiting Zebre, the Cheetahs are fifth in Pool 1 with six log points and positioned just outside the knock-out stages berths.
Lyon are second with nine points, but the Cheetahs already have a better points-difference than their opponents which means that victory would likely be enough for them to win the tie-breaker in the event that Lyon banked a losing bonus point to draw level on 10 log points.
“We managed to beat Zebre and we drew with Perpignan, but if we want to leave our mark on the competition we need to beat Lyon,” added Steyn. “It’s not going to be easy to win there.
“It’s a good challenge for us and the guys will be up for it, physically. We’ve got some injuries, so it’s a good opportunity for the guys going over.”
Indeed, the Cheetahs’ touring squad omitted a long list of injured players including the likes of former Brumbies fullback James Verity-Amm, relentless openside flank Gideon van der Merwe, grizzled lock Carl Wegner and former Springbok forward, Oupa Mohoje.
EPCR Challenge Cup matches are always high-stakes affairs, but especially so for the Cheetahs whose annual schedule is devoid of any other matches, aside from the Currie Cup.
Speedster Cohen Jasper scored a try that helped the Cheetahs win the 2023 Currie Cup final and he starred again last week to score the match-winning try against Zebre.
Though this season marks his third Challenge Cup campaign, the 24-year-old will be playing only his seventh match in top-tier competition when he trots onto Matmut Stadium to face Lyon. In contrast, two-Test Springbok loose forward Arno Botha will make his 47th appearance for Lyon in a top-flight club career that has spanned more than 150 matches for the Bulls, Munster and Lyon combined.
“It’s always good competing against great teams and great players,” Steyn said. “For us, it's massively important to use the opportunity we get, and hopefully we get the win.”