Cheetahs
Torsten van Jaarsveld has been named as captain of the Free State Cheetahs for the Currie Cup
Torsten van Jaarsveld has been named Free State Cheetahs captain for the upcoming Currie Cup season, the union announced via a press statement on Monday.
The 27-year-old, who can play flank and hooker, will replace Boom Prinsloo who captained the team during last year’s Currie Cup.
With Super Rugby captain Adriaan Strauss expected to be on duty for the Springboks, the Cheetahs have decided to appoint a different captain for the Currie Cup.
Coenie van Wyk
The Cheetahs have added another exciting backline player to their stocks after securing the services of Pumas fullback Coenie van Wyk.
The 26-year-old, who represented the Lions with aplomb in this year’s Super Rugby competition, will join the Cheetahs after this year’s Currie Cup.
Van Wyk will join the Cheetahs on a two-year deal.
Ex- Stormers & Biarritz utility back, Joe Pietersen
The Cheetahs have found a replacement for flyhalf Johan Goosen who will leave them to further his career in France.
According to reports, former Stormers back Joe Pietersen will play for the Cheetahs in next year’s Super Rugby competition.
Lions (27) 60 / 25 (13) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The Lions and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Ellis Park, Johannesburg at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Willie Britz
The Toyota Cheetahs continued to replenish their player cabinet as it has emerged that they are close to completing the signing of Lions ‘wildman’, Willie Britz for the coming season.
This comes after the Bloemfontein side confirmed the signings of three other Lions players – prop Bees Roux, flyhalf Willie du Plessis and utility back Coenie van Wyk for the coming season.
The Cheetahs have also signed Montpellier midfielder JP du Plessis and have an agreement for SA Under 20 winger Sergeal Peterson to represent them at Super Rugby level this year.
JP du Plessis
The Toyota Cheetahs have made another signing, luring former Melbourne Rebels and Stormers midfielder JP du Plessis back to South Africa from Montpellier.
Du Plessis, one of the most promising midfielders to emerge from Paul Roos, had a stint in rugby league with the Sydney Roosters after school before returning to Rugby Union with the Melbourne Rebels.
He made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut against the Hurricanes in the same year but returned to South Africa in 2012 and signed with the DHL Stormers.
Heinrich Brüssow
Any hopes of a dramatic return for Heinrich Brüssow have been squashed, meaning the Cheetahs will retain their winning formula for the last match of the season.
The men from Bloemfontein head to Johannesburg on Saturday to take on the resurgent Lions – a team looking to end their season with a three-match winning streak.
However, the Cheetahs will be without star the Springbok flank, Brüssow, who also missed last weekend’s 27-20 win over the Sharks due a groin injury.
“Heins will undergo groin surgery and will not play,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said, ahead of his team’s trip to Ellis Park.
Sergeal Petersen
The Eastern Province Kings say there is no loan agreement for wing Sergeal Petersen to represent the Cheetahs in Super Rugby next year.
It was reported on Monday that the Baby Bok flyer has signed a deal to play Super Rugby with the Cheetahs before returning to play Currie Cup for the Kings.
However, EP Rugby CEO Charl Crous denied this move via a media statement on Tuesday.
The Cell C Sharks will be the only South African team contesting the Vodacom Super Rugby playoffs this year after the Vodacom Bulls slipped up in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon, shortly before the KwaZulu-Natalians’ title hopes were dealt a blow in Bloemfontein.
The team from Durban dropped one position to third on the overall standings after their shock defeat by 27-20 to the Toyota Cheetahs at the Free State Stadium. It was arguably the team from Bloemfontein’s best performance of the season as they moved up from the last spot on the log to 14th.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, the DHL Stormers recorded the fourth-ever clean sheet in a local derby when they beat the Vodacom Bulls by 16-0 at DHL Newlands. Just before the June-break, the Capetonians did the same when they beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 33-0 in Cape Town.
It will be only the third time in the last 10 years that the Vodacom Bulls will not feature in the playoffs.
The other two times a South African side failed to score any points in local derbies, were in 1999 when the Cell C Sharks beat the Vodacom Bulls by 29-0, while the team from Pretoria beat the Southern Kings by 34-0 last year.
In total, it was the sixth time ever a South African team were kept point-less in Vodacom Super Rugby and the Vodacom Bulls’ third zero. The Pretorians lost 27-0 to the Crusaders in Timaru in 2011 and the DHL Stormers lost 22-0 to the Crusaders in Cape Town in 2008.
On Friday evening, the Lions recorded their sixth win of the season when they beat the Rebels by 34-17 at Ellis Park, meaning 2014 will go down as the most successful for the team based in Johannesburg since the Cats franchise was dissolved before the 2006-season. Their previous best was five wins in 2007.
Adriaan Strauss
Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss lauded his team’s efforts in their 27-20 victory over the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
“Everyone, including the guys coming off the bench, had a good game,” said Strauss after the match.
“They really put up their hands and played for one another.
“A lot of the guys leave at the end of the season and we wanted to give them a good farewell at our home ground.
“I think we achieved that. Next we face the Lions away and we will be looking for another good performance to round things off.”
Cheetahs (17) 27 / 20 (13) Sharks (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Cell C Sharks did battle in Super Rugby at
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Considering the amount of Toyota Cheetahs that are leaving for greener pastures, Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby clash against the Cell C Sharks may be the last time that their fans may see them in their orange and white strip before joining new teams.
And since it is their last home Super Rugby game of the season, coach Naka Drotske has included all his stars for the clash to try and score a win against in the local derby.
No less than eight Springboks are back in action for the team after spending the last month with the Springboks and Trevor Nyakane, captain Adriaan Strauss, prop Coenie Oosthuizen, lock Lood de Jager, utility forward Teboho Mohoke, flyhalf Johan Goosen, wing Cornal Hendricks and fullback Willie le Roux all return to the side for the clash.
The South African Conference resumes this weekend in Round 18, after watching the Australian and New Zealand franchises in action which ensured that there is likely to be only one team from the Republic in the finals.
The Sharks, long guaranteed the South African Conference, will finish in the top three while two more victories will ensure that Jake White’s team finish in the top two position and lock up a home Semi Final.
The Bulls still have an outside chance of reaching the Finals Series, but their hopes were dealt a blow with a 32-21 loss to the Lions before the June break.
The Stormers have become one of the premier spoilers in Super Rugby so far, while the Lions and Cheetahs have likely already begun planning for the Currie Cup and 2015 season.
Heinrich Brussow
The Cheetahs will not able to call on the services of Heinrich Brüssow for their Super Rugby clash against the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Coach Naka Drotské said that the loose forward is still struggling with a groin injury and won’t be risked for the game.
Philip van der Walt (hand) and Jean Cook (shoulder) are ready for action again, while Oupa Mohoje has also returned from the Springboks.
Adriaan Strauss
The Vodacom Bulls could have snapped up the signing of the year locally as Springbok hooker and Toyota Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss looks set to be heading back to Pretoria.
Strauss is yet to sign the contract, and the Bulls could only open negotiations with him today – 1 July – but sources close to the Cheetahs camp have confirmed that Strauss has already said no to a contract extension with his province and now seems set on returning to Pretoria.
The Grey College graduate, who played his junior rugby in Pretoria and made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut there as well, before returning to the Cheetahs is being chased as well by the Stormers, who also have made a big money offer to sign him.
But it seems the Bulls have won the race, with indications that the deal could be finalised this week already and that Strauss will be a possible captain for the Bulls in next year’s Super Rugby series.
Trevor Nyakane
Springbok and Cheetahs prop Trevor Nyakane may be on his way to the Cape to play for Western Province and the Stormers.
The Bulls were also keen to sign Nyakane, but it now seems the Capetonians may have won the battle for his signature.
Johann Sadie
The Cheetahs were hit by another massive blow when they lost their ninth player of the season, with midfielder Johann Sadie heading to Japan to join the NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes at the end of the current Super Rugby season.
Sadie will make the move to the Japanese club, which also has South Africans Heinrich Brüssow and Riaan Viljoen on their books, after again missing on the Springbok training squad.
The Cheetahs midfielder has had a good season despite his team’s poor form in this year’s competition and will definitely be able to use his attacking skills in the pacy Japanese league.
Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo
Die Cheetahs agsteman, Johannes ‘Boom’ Prinsloo, het sy betrokkenheid met die Bloemfontein-gebasseerde eenheid verleng tot aan die einde van 2015.
Die 25-jarige wat ‘n uitnemende en vooraanstaande verhouding en geskiedenis met die SA Sewes Blitzbokke gehad het, het gesê hy is gelukkig by die Cheetahs en sien geen rede om daaraan te verander nie.
Philip van der Walt
The Cheetahs have announced that eighthman Philip van der Walt will leave the Bloemfontein Super Rugby franchise in order to play in France.
The Free-state franchise have released Van der Walt from his contract so that he can join French club Biarritz.
Rory Duncan
Naka Drotské
The Free State Cheetahs will tackle this year’s Currie Cup competition under a new head coach, the Free State Rugby Union said on Thursday.
Super Rugby coach Naka Drotské hands over the reins for the coming domestic competition to the coach of this year’s Free State Vodacom Cup side, Rory Duncan.
Drotské, who would be heading off to the UK to expand his coaching knowledge abroad, remained the head coach for the Cheetahs Super Rugby campaign next year. Griquas coach Hawies Fourie and former Springbok prop Os du Randt would be his assistants for the 2015 competition.
Naka Drotské
Harold Verster
Toyota Cheetahs & Toyota Free State Cheetahs head coach, Naka Drotské’s contract is set to be extended and the role of Harold Verster, managing director of the Cheetahs Company, is set to be discussed when board members of the franchise meet in Bloemfontein on Wednesday afternoon.
Cheetahs and South Africa hooker Adriaan Strauss has been banned for three weeks for a tip-tackle, ruling him out of the Wales series.
The Sanzar duty judicial officer Adam Casselden has accepted a guilty plea from Strauss for contravening Law 10.4 (j) Lifting Tackle, after he was cited during a Super Rugby match at the weekend.
Strauss has been suspended from all forms of the game for three weeks up to and including 21 June 2014.
Adriaan Strauss
Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss has been cited for a lifted tackle in his sides loss against the Stormers.
Strauss was Yellow Carded by referee Stuart Berry for the incident that happened in the 23rd minute of the Cheetahs dismissal display at wet and windy Newlands.
Stormers (15) 33 / 0 (0) Cheetahs (Final Score)
The DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs did battle in Super Rugby at
Newlands, Cape Town at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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Hilton Lobberts
Former Springbok forward Hilton Lobberts has been named on the Cheetahs bench for Saturday’s clash with the Stormers at Newlands.
The two-Test former Stormers player replaces lock Waltie Vermeulen in one of two changes made to the Cheetahs bench. Scrumhalf Tian Meyer, who like Lobberts was part Vodacom Cup-winning Griquas team – also comes onto the bench for Renier Botha.
The Toyota Cheetahs have lost their second player with the news that fullback Hennie Daniller will move to Italian club Zebre at the end of the current Vodacom Super Rugby season.
Daniller, who has just turned 30, has been released early by the Cheetahs to make the move, and the news comes a few days after French club Oyonnax confirmed they had signed utility back Riaan “True Blue” Smit.
Saturday’s three Vodacom Super Rugby matches involving the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers and Toyota Cheetahs ended in a whitewash for the South African teams as they all recorded good victories.
The Cell C Sharks consolidated their spot at the top of the Vodacom Super Rugby log with a superb 30-25 victory over the in-form Crusaders in Christchurch – the first defeat for the team from Canterbury in New Zealand since 2001 against South African opposition and also the maiden victory for a team from the Republic in the Land of the Long White Cloud this season.
The Durbanites became the first South African team to ever in Christchurch since the franchise system was put in place in 1998.
It was only the second time a SA team managed to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch, when Northern Transvaal won there in 1996, and the third time out of 46 matches that the seven-time Vodacom Super Rugby champions lost at home to a team from the Republic – the Cats beat the Crusaders in Nelson in 2001.
The Crusaders also drew twice at home to teams from South Africa in the early years of Super 12, in 1996 against Western Province and in 1997 against the Sharks.
Later on Saturday afternoon, the DHL Stormers won their third successive home game of 2014 when they easily beat the high-flying Force by 24-8 in Cape Town, outscoring their visitors by three tries to one – ironically the same try count as in the Sharks/Crusaders match.
Saturday ended in ecstasy for the Toyota Cheetahs as they managed to beat the Brumbies for the first time since 2011 when they won this replay of their 2013 qualifier by 27-21, thanks mainly to a very good second half performance.
On Sunday morning, the Lions started very well against the Waratahs in Sydney, but the home team had too much left in the second half and eventually won this match by 41-13.
The Vodacom Bulls, currently second in the South African Conference behind the Cell C Sharks, had a bye this weekend.
Cheetahs (9) 27 / 21 (11) Brumbies (Final Score)
The Toyota Cheetahs and Brumbies did battle in Super Rugby at
Free Sate Stadium, Bloemfontein at 19:10 SA Time (17:10 GMT, 03:10 Sunday AEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1, SHD & M-Net on TV in SA.
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The Cheetahs have been forced into a late change ahead of their Super Rugby clash with the Brumbies in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Cheetahs remain in the dark over the future of Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen, amidst escalating rumours that he is to depart from the Cheetahs.
The most recent dispatches from the Bloemfontein media suggest Goosen will make an announcement in the “next few days” – having been linked to French clubs Racing Metro and Toulon, as well as the Stormers.
The Vodacom Bulls may well add Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane to their ranks as their next acquisition when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Nyakane, who became a Springbok last season but was dropped because of disciplinary issues, is known to be on the target list of the Bulls as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2015 season.
Former Springbok utility back Franco Smith has been appointed as assistant coach of the Cheetahs.
Backline coach Hawies Fourie has been released to take charge of Griquas.
Toyota Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has made three changes to his team for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Brumbies in Bloemfontein.
Two of the changes are in the backline, where Cornal Hendricks takes over from Raymond Rhule and Shaun Venter replaces the injured Sarel Pretorius.
Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen is on the verge of announcing a move to France at the end of the current Vodacom Super Rugby season.
Goosen has been eyeing a move since early in the season, and is likely to sign for French club Racing Metro in the next few days, leaving his Toyota Cheetahs side with a massive dilemma.
The Cheetahs have been dealt a blow with the news that scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius is ruled out with an ankle injury.