On Monday, the Cheetahs announced that the tournament will be played again this year and the plan is to host it twice.

In an attempt to improve on last year's successful tournament, the Cheetahs are looking to bring over better opponents from around in the form of the Crusaders and Toyota Verblitz from Japan.

Cheetahs CEO, Ross van Reenen, told OFM Sport they want to improve the competition in the tournament, while he also admitted that the chances of entering a major international tournament in 2022 is very slim.

“I'm not making promises that we are going to play in an international competition this year," said the former lock.

“I will be very honest with you that I think that the possibility is not too good, and I say that upfront. “Hopefully I'm wrong, and I'll be the first one to admit that I'm wrong.

“However, after discussions with Leon Theron (Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors), we are going to host two Toyota Challenges this year.

“We are going to bring in some serious teams. We are talking about teams like the Crusaders and possibility the Toyota Verblitz in Japan.”

In November 2021 the Cheetahs hosted the inaugural Toyota Challenge that also featured the Sharks, Western Province, Baia Mare (Romania), and Diables Barcelona (Spain).

The Bulls and the Lions are the two local teams the Cheetahs want to invite to compete.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport