Two of South Africa’s three provincial teams in the four-nation Toyota Challenge rugby series, the Free State Cheetahs and the Northern Cape Griquas, completed the first leg of the challenge unbeaten at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.

Mpumalanga’s Pumas finished third, claiming two wins but suffering a single defeat, 46 – 36, against Georgia’s Black Lion.

The two visiting sides, Romania A and Portugal’s Lusitanos, returned home without a win, losing all their fixtures in the tournament staged from 5 to 14 June.

The Griquas topped the standings due to a superior scoreline as they went on a rampage in the competition. They overcame Romania A 35 – 20 in round one, while in round two they outclassed Black Lion 56 – 21. The team ended the tournament with a bang: demolishing Lusitanos 76 – 7.

The hosts, the Cheetahs, dismantled Lusitanos 54 – 24 in the opening fixture and continued their onslaught by beating Romania A 47 – 12. They overcame the stubborn Black Lion 47 – 32 in the closing fixture of the tournament.

The action-packed event marked the first leg of the series, with the second leg scheduled for October this year.

The second leg will be played in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The South African franchises will travel north for the reverse fixtures, which will serve as a vital platform for player development and international exposure, especially for the European national setups building towards the men’s Rugby World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and Papua New Guinea.