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The Carling Currie Cup competition will kick-off this coming weekend with the Toyota Cheetahs having a first-round bye. They will play their first 2020/1 Currie Cup match as the defending Champions on 5 December 2020 against the Vodacom Blue Bulls at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
The Cheetahs are currently fourth on the competition log with 17 log points, six points behind the Blue Bulls with 23 points.
The Cheetahs is awaiting the return of several players from injury during the next two to three weeks. Wilmar Arnoldi (hooker), Reniel Hugo (lock) and Charl Marais (prop) are hopeful starters for the upcoming Bulls game while Ruan Pienaar should return before the end of December.
The Cheetahs battled their way to a close-fought 19-17 win over the Bulls in their second-round Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked match in Bloemfontein earlier this season.
The home side led 13-3 at halftime and managed to hang on for their second successive win of the competition after a 53-31 win over the Pumas in Bloemfontein a week earlier.
The Vodacom Bulls had a chance to level matters right at the end when Joe van Zyl (replacement hooker) crashed over for their only try from a lineout maul.
However, Chris Smith (replacement flyhalf) missed the conversion attempt to allow the Free Staters to grab the winning points for a second week in a row.
Their third-round match against the Lions was cancelled due to Covid19 regulations, with both sides allocated two log points.
Their round 5 fixture against the Sharks in Durban ended in a 13-19 loss. In the 72nd minute, the Cheetahs hit the front for the first time as they scored the opening try of the game. An attacking scrum led to a clever backline move which put William Small-Smith through for five points, and Schoeman converted to put his side 13-9 ahead. The Cheetahs appeared to have snatched victory with that try. However, the Sharks kept hammering away and found a try of their own at the death as Madosh Tambwe crashed over the line to round off a move started by Bosch's cross-kick. The flyhalf converted and went on to slot another penalty for a 19-13 win.
The Cheetahs lost to the Stormers in Round 6 with 30-13 after the Stormers was made to work very hard for the victory. While the scoreline flattered the hosts somewhat, they did eventually gain the upper hand late in the match thanks largely to their powerful pack, ultimately outscoring their opponents three tries to one.
The Cheetahs played in the last match of the Super Rugby Unlocked championship with a hard-fought 28-9 victory over the Griquas at a wet Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. The result meant that the Cheetahs finish fourth on the log with the winless Griquas finishing last.