Second-half implosion sinks Cheetahs' hopes

A second-half implosion saw the Toyota Cheetahs' hopes of making the EPCR Challenge Cup playoffs take a massive nosedive as they were well beaten 45-22 by Stade Francais in Amsterdam on Saturday afternoon.

The Cheetahs led 17-14 at the break and had fought themselves back into a good position after going down 14-0 early, but then two quick tries at the start of the second half seemed to knock their confidence and buoy the French side, who never looked back and eventually won the game quite easily in the end.

The Cheetahs have now lost both their games in the competition - this was their first home game at their European base in Amsterdam - and with just two more games left in the pool phases, it is unlikely they will advance to the playoffs unless something changes.

Tough day out for the Toyota Cheetahs against Stade Francais.#ChallengeCupRugby #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/TPBG28hE7D — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 13, 2025

At times they got themselves into good positions, and players like Daniel Maartens and Munier Hartzenberg looked good, but they were no match for the French consistency and their ability to strike when it mattered.

There must also be a question mark about the mental toughness of the Cheetahs players, because at times they handed simple tries to their opposition and looked like they had lost concentration, which can be fatal at this level.

The French side opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Thibault Motassi and added a second when a grubber bounced perfectly for Joe Marchant.

While the Cheetahs were getting pummelled in the scrums early, they rectified that and started making inroads with their maul, resulting in a Louis van der Westhuizen try.

As the half wound down, they found another few metres from a maul, which broke open and the resulting recycled play saw a spirited run by Hartzenberg to break two tackles and score, putting them into a halftime lead.

But that's the best the Cheetahs would see of the game as their second half was a nightmare, starting off with scrumhalf Marco Jansen van Vuren being charged down behind the ruck in his own 22, with Iakopo Mapo pouncing to score the try.

The impressive Motassi added his name for a second time to the scoresheet a few minutes later with a long range effort and suddenly the Cheetahs were playing catch-up again.

They never recovered as Noah Nene and man of the match Juan Martin Scalzo scored to seal the game long before the final whistle.

But the Cheetahs did have an amazing long-range try in the 78th minute, thanks to another Hartzenberg break which led to Juandre Nel crashing over.

Scorers

Toyota Cheetahs - tries: Louis van der Westhuizen, Munier Hartzenberg, Juandre Nel. Conversions: Cohen Jasper. Penalty: Jasper.

Stade Francais - tries: Thibaut Motassi (2), Joe Marchant, Iakopo Mapo, Noah Nene, Juan Martin Scelzo. Conversions: Louis Forsans-Bourdette (6). Penalty: Forsans-Bourdette