Meet the Cheetahs and Southern Kings, the two South African franchises invited to join Europe's Pro12
Two South African sides are set to be invited to join the Pro12 this week
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Your support makes all the difference.Two South African sides are set to be invited to join the Pro12 this week after it was announced that they would leave Super Rugby following its reduction from 18 teams to 15.
The two franchises which are set join the Welsh, Irish, Italian and Scottish sides are the Cheetahs and the Southern Kings, who played each other in their final Super League game.
The Cheetahs edged it 21-20 and are expected to join the Pro12 – which would then be known as the Pro14 – from September.
Pro12 board members are set to confirm the news on Tuesday following their board meeting in Dublin, meaning the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions will all maintain their status as Super Rugby clubs.
But what do we know about the two new franchises?
Cheetahs
Known as the Toyota Cheetahs, the franchise are from the western half of the Free State province in South Africa and play at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein – which had its capacity increased to 48,000 for the 2010 World Cup.
The Cheetahs were one of two new franchises that entered the expanded Super Rugby competition in 2006.
The Cheetahs’ best finish to a Super Rugby season was in 2013 when they finished sixth, but they only managed to win four of their 14 games in total last season and finished 13th of the 18 sides.
Southern Kings
The Southern Kings are only eight years old having been created in 2009 to face the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa – a game they lost 20-8.
They weren’t awarded a Super Rugby franchise until 2013 and were made up of the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape, drawing players from three provincial unions, but the South Africa Rugby Union took over running of the Kings in November 2015.
The Kings were relegated from Super Rugby after their first season following a two-legged loss to the Lions causing them to miss the 2014 and 2015 seasons before returning in 2016.
The Kings play at the 46,000-seater Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, another one of the host stadiums of the 2010 World Cup.
They finished 11th overall last term having won six of their 15 games.
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