The Toyota Cheetahs are heading north for their fourth EPCR Challenge Cup campaign, and the touring squad for the December games has been announced.

The squad leaves Bloemfontein on Monday evening as they travel to England for their first match on Sunday, 7 December, against the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park Stadium in Exeter.

Kick-off is at 17:30 (19:30 SA time), before the team travels to their European home base in the Netherlands for the clash against Stade Français Paris on Saturday, 13 December at the iconic NRCA Stadium. Kick-off is at 14:00 (15:00 SA time).

After a short festive break back in South Africa, the Toyota Cheetahs return to Amsterdam on Saturday, 11 January, where they face Ulster Rugby at the NRCA Stadium. The action gets underway at 16:15 (17:15 SA time).

As part of the EPCR conditions, the Toyota Cheetahs’ European base allows them to host their Round 2 and 3 “home” games in Amsterdam. Free State Rugby extends sincere gratitude to Rugby Nederland for proudly opening their home ground to another team in orange.

Tickets for the Amsterdam fixtures on 13 December and 11 January are available online at https://rugby.nl/ticketshop/ 

The northern adventure continues when the Toyota Cheetahs head to Paris for their Round 4 clash against Racing 92 at Paris La Défense Arena, kicking off at 18:30 (19:30 SA time).

The matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

December Touring Squad:

Forwards: Aranos Coetzee, Cameron Dawson, Frankie Dos Reis, Marko Janse van Rensburg, Daniel Maartens, Tielman Niewoudt, Vernon Paulo, Victor Sekekete, Pierre Uys, Gideon van der Merwe, Chucky van der Westhuizen, Juan Venter, Neels Volschenk, Sisonke Vumazonke, Carl Wegner.

Backs: De-an Ackerman, Michael Annies, Clayton Blommetjies, Zander du Plessis, Munier Hartzenberg, Cohen Jasper, Rewan Kruger, Jandre Nel, Prince Nkabinde,Marco Jansen van Vuren, Jaco van der Walt.