Cheetahs CEO Rory Duncan has detailed their desperate efforts to ensure Sunday’s EPCR Challenge Cup fixture against Ulster went ahead.
Severe winter conditions in the Netherlands ultimately led to the match at Dukes Rugby Club in ’s-Hertogenbosch being cancelled, but not before the club and local community tried everything to save the fixture.
Duncan told News24 that players, staff and locals worked for three days to remove snow manually.
“The community and everybody at the rugby club got involved, from young kids to adults, everyone was involved because it was quite a big operation,” Duncan said.
“We did everything in our power, we really worked. I’m talking about manual labour moving the snow off the pitch and used every resource we had. We wanted to play the fixture.”
MORE: Unplayable pitch ends Cheetahs’ playoff hopes
Despite those efforts, match officials ruled the surface unplayable, citing player safety concerns. In line with EPCR regulations, the fixture was recorded as a 28-0 bonus-point win for Ulster, as it is the responsibility of the hosting team to ensure a playable venue. The result ended the Cheetahs’ hopes of progressing in the competition.
While disappointed by the outcome, Duncan acknowledged that safety had to come first in the extreme conditions.
The Cheetahs have been based in Amsterdam during their four seasons in the Challenge Cup, having accepted EPCR’s requirement that invitational, non-European teams operate from a European base.
The Cheetahs conclude their Challenge Cup campaign with an away match against Racing in Paris on Sunday.
Photo: John Dickson/Sportsfile via Getty Images
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