Experienced Toyota Cheetahs and Springbok scrumhalf, Ruan Pienaar, and Isuzu Southern Kings lock, JC Astle, were thrilled at the prospect of the ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀ Guinness PRO14 season kicking off in two weeks’ time and said their teams were ready to get down to business in the competition.

The Cheetahs will host ²⁰¹⁸⁄₁₉ finalists, the Glasgow Warriors, in the opening match of the competition in Bloemfontein on Friday, 27 September, while the Kings kick off their campaign against the Cardiff Blues at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 28 September.

Pienaar, who was a key figure in the Toyota Free State Cheetahs’ Currie Cup victory against the Xerox Golden Lions last Saturday, said at the Guinness PRO14 launch in Johannesburg on Thursday that the celebrations were now over, and the Free Staters were ready to stake a claim for the Guinness PRO14 title.

“We are very pleased with how the Currie Cup turned out for us” said Pienaar.

“It has been a great week with a lot of celebrations, but our focus is now on the Guinness PRO14, and we are excited to get going.”

“The one thing we know for sure is that winning our home games will be very important, and with our first three matches in Bloemfontein, hopefully we can get the season off to a good start.”

Pienaar was pleased with the team’s form going into the Guinness PRO14 and said: “We played eight matches in the Currie Cup and that was great preparation for us. This competition is a completely different challenge though, with a different style of rugby, as both South African teams learned in the last two seasons, but we are very excited for this campaign.”