In a huge boost for SA Rugby, the Cheetahs will play in the European Professional Club Rugby's (EPCR) knockout competition, the Challenge Cup, next season.

The four Shield winners and the next four highest-ranked clubs in the final league table of the United Rugby Championship (URC) will take part in the Heineken Champions Cup with the remaining sides going into the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, who finished in the top eight of the URC, will play in the Champions Cup while the Lions and the Cheetahs will contest the EPCR Challenge Cup.

This means SA teams will cross swords with the best clubs from England and France after already successfully integrating with teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the URC.

Both these competitions’ finals for this season took place at Stade Velodrome in Marseille last weekend, with three of the four sides in action from France and the results leading to two historical firsts.

In the EPCR Challenge Cup final on Friday, Lyon secured their first European title and first silverware in 89 years while La Rochelle beat Leinster in a nail-biting match to win their first Champions Cup.

Next year’s EPCR showpiece finals will take place on May 19 and 20 2023 at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

“Our five franchise teams will now play in two new territories against opponents we’ve never played before,” SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said.

“We’ve already experienced the intensity of the URC and now we’ll also face the top teams from England and France.

“We would like to thank all relevant stakeholders who have been involved in the negotiation process — the board and staff of EPRC, the URC, Premiership Rugby in England and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) in France.

“It has happened earlier than planned, as we started this process more than two years ago after Super Rugby imploded, but this has now become reality, which is great news for SA rugby.

“Ever since we’ve made the decision to align with the Northern Hemisphere, our aim was to play in the EPCR competitions. As we’ve seen during the inaugural season of the URC, the rugby is of the highest standard and our top players definitely benefited from this move.

“We now have an opportunity to also start rubbing shoulders with the top clubs from England and France in two other competitions, which have caught the imagination of rugby supporters around the globe for more than two decades.”

Roux thanked the Cheetahs, who have impressed in the Currie Cup this season, for their patience.

“I’m sure they can’t wait to face international opposition again, and we’re very grateful to have them included in the EPCR.

“The first season of the URC has really been an eye-opener for our teams, but it also presented a wonderful opportunity to our players to participate in a superb competition.

“I firmly believe we are on the right track by playing in these competitions in the Northern Hemisphere, and we certainly can’t wait to get involved in the EPCR competitions as it will only further enhance the local game.”

Ross van Reenen, CEO of the Cheetahs, said: “We are very grateful to SA Rugby and all the other stakeholders for getting us the opportunity to play in an international competition again. We know it took a lot of hard work and we are looking forward to playing in the EPCR Challenge Cup next season.

“I especially want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude for the incredible amount of hard work that Jurie Roux and Mark Alexander, president of Saru, have put in behind the scenes to make this dream of competing in the EPCR Challenge Cup become a reality for the Free State Cheetahs.”

Anthony Lepage, CEO of EPCR, said: “This is a hugely significant step forward in realising our ambitions to grow our tournaments and bring these outstanding competitions to new audiences across the globe.”

The formats for next season’s Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup are set to be announced soon, in conjunction with details of the pool draws for both tournaments, which will be staged towards the end of the month.