The Lions and Toyota Cheetahs will fly the South African flag in the EPCR Challenge Cup when they take on Benetton and the Exeter Chiefs in the opening round.
The Lions will welcome a well-known opponent to Ellis Park on Saturday (15h00), when they open their account against Italian club Benetton.
Two months ago, Benetton beat the Lions in Italy in the Vodacom URC, while the Italians also won the corresponding fixture in Johannesburg last year, but this time around, the hosts will go into the clash on the back of three straight wins since they were downed in Treviso, two of them at home at Ellis Park.
Sunday’s clash against the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park (19h30 SA time), will be the Toyota Cheetahs’ first against an English club in the EPCR Challenge Cup. After reaching the playoffs in the first two seasons, the Free Staters missed out last year and will be keen to turn that around in the coming months.
Last season, the Toyota Cheetahs boasted the best lineout success rate in the competition with 93.2% and will be looking at this facet again as an attacking weapon, but their defence will have to be spot on against Exeter, who converted 59% of their line breaks to tries, which placed them first in the Investec Champions Cup last season.
Fixtures:
Lions v Benetton
Date: Saturday, 6 December 2025
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
TV: SuperSport
Exeter Chiefs v Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Sunday, 7 December 2025
Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter
SA Time: 19h30
Referee: Benoit Rousselet (Fra)
TV: SuperSport