BLOEMFONTEIN – The Bloemfontein’s Toyota Stadium hosts the defining four-nation Toyota Challenge international series on Sunday 14 June, with the Cheetahs and Griquas locked in a battle for top honours as the first leg of the tournament reaches its conclusion. South Africa’s three provincial sides — the Cheetahs of the Free State, the Griquas of the Northern Cape and the Pumas of Mpumalanga — have been pitted against European trio Romania A, Portugal’s Cartrack Lusitanos and Georgia’s Black Lion since the tournament opened on Friday 5 June.

The Cheetahs lead the standings after two commanding performances. They dismantled the Cartrack Lusitanos 54-24 in the opening before overpowering Romania A 47-12 in round two of matches played on Wednesday. The Cheetahs and the Griquas are heading into Sunday’s finale as the teams to beat.

The Griquas are breathing down their necks in second place, having also won both outings. In the opening fixture of the series on Friday, they edged Romania A 35-20 and in Wednesday’s fixtures, they emphatically dispatched Black Lion 56-21 to cement their position, while the Pumas atoned for their opening-day defeat against Black Lion with a resounding 57-24 victory over Cartrack Lusitanos.

Black Lion are the only visiting side to have recorded a win, having stunned the Pumas 46-36 in the tournament opener — a result that will give Sunday’s opponents cause for respect.

Romania A captain and flanker Vlad Neculau was upbeat about his side’s experience in the southern hemisphere. “We are excited as a team to come to South Africa for this tournament. It is great for us to be in South Africa — a country with such a rich culture of rugby,” said Neculau.

Beyond provincial pride, the tournament carries significant weight. Romania A, Portugal and Georgia are using the series as preparation for the Rugby World Cup in Australia, scheduled from 1 October to 13 November — the first-ever 24-team edition of the global showpiece. Sunday’s results will also set the tone ahead of the second leg of the Toyota Challenge in Tbilisi, Georgia, in October.

Rugby fans can purchase tickets at ticketpro.co.za. Early bird pricing starts at R30 for primary school children and younger, R50 for adults in the open stand, and R70 for the main stand — with a single ticket covering all three matches.

Sunday’s fixture schedule

■ 13:30 – Suzuki Griquas vs Black Lion;

■ 15:30 – Airlink Pumas vs Lusitanos; and

■ 18:00 – Toyota Cheetahs vs  Romania A.