Cheetahs in a cat fight

The Free State Union have launched an urgent investigation into the naming rights and trademark of the 'Cheetahs' name and emblem, as it has emerged the Zimbabwe Sevens team is known by the same name.

The Cheetahs franchise Managing Director, Harold Verster told rugby365 that they are in the process of seeking legal advice on the matter and will be asking the South African Rugby Union (SARU) to address the matter with their Zimbabwean counterparts.

"We don't want to fight over it but it's creating confusion and is a real challenge for us. We have the Cheetahs emblem registered and we need to speak to the company who deals with it and get their advice on it.

"We will go to SARU and ask them to speak to their Zimbabwean counterparts because they need to find another name. It is very confusing, especially in the marketplace for sponsorship and so on, and we have to deal with it right away," he said.

Verster went on to say that if push comes to shove, they will take the necessary legal steps to have this issue resolved immediately.

The Zimbabwe Sevens national team are currently in a training camp as they prepare for the Confederation of African Rugby (CAR) Sevens tournament to be played in Harare on November 29 - 30.

Tauriq Ebrahim

@Tagels03