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Cheetahs make a splash by signing four more players ahead of new PRO14 season

Online Editors

Published: 16 Jul 2019 | 16 July 2019 06:49 PDT
Updated: 16 Jul 2019 | 16 July 2019 06:50 PDT

Rhyno Smith is leaving the Sharks for the Cheetahs (Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Free State Cheetahs have confirmed four new signings for the upcoming Guinness PRO14. season. They have contracted utility back Rhyno Smith, loose forward Chris Massyn, centre Chris Smit, and hooker Wilmar Arnoldi.

Sharks’ outside back Smith will be heading back to Bloemfontein after previously playing for the club in the PRO14 during the 2018/19 season.

A star player for the North West University Pukke in the Varsity Cup and for the Leopards in the Currie Cup first division, Smith played for the Toyota Cheetahs on a loan deal and has now signed a three-year contract.

Massyn joins on a two-year contract from Western Province. Normally a flanker, he led the University of Stellenbosch Maties to the 2019 Varsity Cup title.

He has also played for both Blue Bulls and Boland Cavaliers. The 25-year-old is known for being destructive with the ball in hand and difficult to deal with at the breakdown.

@CheetahsRugby are delighted to confirm the signing of four new players for the upcoming @PRO14Official
Read more 👇https://t.co/Xpz1IiIX1l
— Toyota Cheetahs (@CheetahsRugby) July 16, 2019

Smit, who joined Griquas earlier in the year after winning the 2019 Varsity Cup with the University of Stellenbosch Maties, will be joining the Cheetahs on a two-year contract.

The midfielder, who can also play at fly-half, turns 24 in August and his good distribution game caught the attention. He was named 2019 Varsity Cup player of the tournament.

Hooker Arnoldi is joining Cheetahs on a two-year deal from the Griquas. He was a star-performer for the North West University Pukke for three years before joining the Griquas in 2017.

Ulster fans look away now. https://t.co/ymbQeq1aMi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 10, 2019

During that time he also represented the Leopards in the Currie Cup First Division. In 2017 Arnoldi was named in the Varsity Cup Dream Team.

All four players are currently playing for their respective provinces in the Currie Cup and will link up with the Cheetahs at the conclusion of that competition.

The signing of this quartet follows last week’s announcement that Cheetahs have enlisted the services of veteran Ruan Pienaar from Montpellier on a two-year deal.

WATCH: Episode three the RugbyPass Rugby Explorer series where Jim Hamilton takes a trek through South African rugby

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