Disgruntled Steyn vows Cheetahs will prove they belong in URC
REACTION: An upset Francois Steyn didn’t sugarcoat his feelings following the Cheetahs’ 38-39 loss to Black Lion in the opener of the Toyota Challenge.
The Cheetahs blew a 13-point lead early in the second half to the Georgian club side in a match that was a see-saw battle from the opener.
A late try by Prince Nkabinde could’ve pulled the match out of the fire for the hosts, but Cohen Jasper’s missed conversion attempt from out wide gave Black Lion the narrowest of wins in Bloemfontein.
Cheetahs Director of Rugby Steyn didn’t hold back in his reaction, and made a couple of strong statements following the dramatic loss.
Steyn, on many previous occasions, has spoken about the Cheetahs deserving to play in a top-tier club tournament such as Super Rugby or the United Rugby Championship.
The Cheetahs are currently an invitational team in the EPCR Challenge Cup, but have had no other consistent participation in international club tournaments since their time in the old Pro 14 (now URC).
Steyn took responsibility for the performance and admitted that the Cheetahs aren’t doing themselves any favours to prove that they can compete in the URC.
“You can’t tell me that those guys are better than the players we have.
“We can call it rustiness and all those other factors.
“We can’t keep making excuses every time.
“I need to sort it out to go forward because at the moment, there are some non-negotiable things.
“I’m a bit angry tonight [Friday], but I must sort it out this week, and I’ll take it on the chin.
“Because I feel like I’m letting the players and supporters down.
“I’ll sort it out this week and hopefully we’ll put in a better performance next week. We need to.
“We keep on getting these opportunities to showcase why we should play in the URC, but we keep messing it up, and we need to fix it.”
