Where are they now: The last Cheetahs team to play in the PRO16
No one knew it at the time, but the February 29 loss for the Cheetahs three years ago at the Dragons was the match that marked the end of the Bloemfontein-based franchise’s participation in the PRO16. They had travelled north for a three-game tour of Ireland and Wales, losing at Leinster and Ulster before also going down 10-13 at Rodney Parade.
That losing tour sequence left the Cheetahs sitting in fourth place in Conference A with six wins from their 13 matches. Then came the start of the pandemic shutdown of the world and by the time the cross-hemisphere action returned in 2021/22, the Cheetahs has been bumped from the tournament that was rebranded as the URC – with SA Rugby opting to instead enter the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers.
Unlike Southern Kings, who folded as a result of the pandemic, the Cheetahs have remained in business, adding participation in the European Challenge Cup in recent months to their Currie Cup schedule. However, their roster is now very different from what they had at the club pre-pandemic. Here, RugbyPass checks out where the Cheetahs team that played its final PRO16 match three years ago currently is:
15. Clayton Blommetjies
The full-back had returned to the Cheetahs for the 2019/20 season after an unsuccessful spell at Scarlets and Leicester. He started all three tour games before the stoppage and played in numerous Currie Cup tournaments for the club after rugby resumed. Moved to the Stormers for 2022/23 where he has been a starter in 13 of his 15 appearances.
14. Rhyno Smith
Another who started all three tour games, he play for the Cheetahs in the post-pandemic restart before heading north to join Benetton where he is now in his second season in Italy. A regular at full-back, he has been a starter in 27 of his 28 games for the URC franchise.
'It’s not a usual thing for a back to do but I just grew up doing it'
Benhard Janse van Rensburg talks to @heagneyl ??? about his unorthodox route to rugby that has lead to an unorthodox type of player #londonirish https://t.co/n65fmu1rgy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 19, 2023
13. William Small-Smith
Another player that the Cheetahs named to start in every tour match, he was still at the club when rugby got going again but his career has since prematurely ended. It was December 2020 when he suffered a head knock against the Sharks in Bloemfontein and he quit playing four months later on medical grounds at the age of 29.
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Another three-game tour starter in the Cheetahs back line, the midfielder decided to play the 2021 season with Green Rockets Tokatsu in Japan before an offer arrived from London Irish where he has proven invaluable in his 48 appearances. Voted the Gallagher Premiership player of the month for January, he gave an insightful interview in recent weeks to RugbyPass about why the English league has been so good for him.
11. Craig Barry
Having arrived back at the Cheetahs from Western Province and the Stormers, he stayed with the club for the pandemic restart. However, he didn’t play all that much and a January 2022 outing versus Romanian Baia Mare was his last appearance for them.
10. Tian Schoeman
The fifth and final member of the Rodney Parade backline to start all three tour games, he was still at the Cheetahs for the rugby restart but soon moved to Bath in England, a move that wasn’t a success as his time was limited due to a serious knee injury. Is now at Newcastle where there have been six starts in his 14 2022/23 appearances.
9. Tian Meyer
The scrum-half wasn’t meant to be a starter away to Dragons, but he was handed the No9 shirt after Ruan Pienaar was a late withdrawal. Remained at the Cheetahs for the restart but then played twice for the Sharks in last season’s URC before moving to Japan, initially playing for Osaka Red Hurricanes before switching to Urayasu D-Rocks.
1. Boan Venter
The loosehead started at Dragons after benching twice in Ireland. Was still at Cheetahs when rugby returned but has since made Scotland his home, joining Edinburgh during its 2020/21 campaign and so far making 38 appearances, 21 as a starter.
2. Wilmar Arnoldi
Another who started back with the Bloemfontein club for the restart before moving elsewhere. There was an initial pitstop at the Stormers, but he made just a single URC appearance and is now playing in France with the Pro D2 Beziers.
3. Luan de Bruin
Featured in a few SA Super Rugby games following the restart but was soon snapped up by Leicester, whom he represented on 17 occasions, nine as a starter, in the 2020/21 season before making Edinburgh his home. So far there have been 18 appearances in his two seasons in Scotland, nine as their starting tighthead.
'I have worked in so many organisations where you are resigned to the fact that you are never really going to see the fruits of your labour, it will always be someone else'
Ex-Tigers recruitment tzar @JanMcGinity talks to @heagneyl ??? #leicestertigers https://t.co/x0IZyGCLQ6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 16, 2022
4. Sintu Manjezi
The Scottish theme continues with the lock who initially joined the Bulls for the rugby restart. ACL and eye injuries limited his on-pitch contribution to Jake White’s franchise and he moved to Glasgow for 2022/23, so far featuring in 10 URC matches – seven as a starter – under Franco Smith, his old Cheetahs coach.
5. Walt Steenkamp
One of only two forwards to start all three tour games for the Cheetahs, he too soon switched to the Bulls after the rugby restart and became a talisman in their run to the 2021/22 URC final. Featured seven more times for them this season before starting 2023 at Mitsubishi Dynaboars in Japan.
6. Gerhardus Olivier
The Cheetahs’ tour had a terrible consequence for the back-rower as he sustained a neck injury 15 minutes into the Dragons match and it was confirmed four months later that he was retiring with immediate effect at the age of 27.
7. Junior Sipato Pokomela
The second forward to start all three Cheetahs tour matches, he continued to play for the club when the sport restarted but has since switched to the Stormers where he was a replacement in their title win last June over the Bulls in Cape Town. Has made 15 more appearances for them this season, seven as a starter.
8. Aidon Davis
Remained at the Cheetahs for their restart Currie Cup/SA Super campaigns but signed for Exeter for the 2022/23 season. Scored a couple of tries versus Bath in his Premiership Rugby Cup debut but his appearances have been very limited.
What a kick… ? Pau just didn't have an answer for the Cheetahs, who this season were back on European soil for the first time in nearly two years #ChallengeCuppic.twitter.com/t9ACbu8lRF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 23, 2023
Replacements:
16. Joseph Dweba
The substitute hooker signed for Bordeaux for the rugby restart and spent two seasons there before returning to South Africa to join the Stormers for 2022/23. Has been capped four times by the Springboks since exiting Cheetahs.
17. Charles Marias
Another player who stayed on with the Cheetahs for the rugby return but his contribution ended with the April 2021 announcement that he was to retire with immediate effect at the age of 32 due to a neck injury.
18. Carel-Jan Coetzee
The tighthead left the Cheetahs last year to hook up with Griffons in Currie Cup First Division.
19. JP du Preez
Sale quickly swooped for the giant lock and there were 30 appearances for the English club before he moved on to Glasgow for a 2022/23 campaign where he has started in four of his 15 games for the Scottish side.
20. Sias Koen
France was where the back-rower was to be found when rugby restarted and Beziers has been a home away from home for him as he has started in 45 of his 57 Pro D2 appearances.
21. Sibhale Maxwane
The Lions has signed him when rugby came back and he is still there, making six starts as a winger in this season’s URC/Challenge Cup campaigns.
22. Louis Fouche
Bench selection in Newport was the last time he played professionally as he retired that July to start a business in Port Elizabeth.
23. Chris Smit
Stayed on with the Cheetahs for the restart but switched to the Bulls in August 2022. Infamously knocked himself out in late September when ‘scoring’ a disallowed try in a defeat to Cheetahs where he had celebrated, punching the air before losing the ball when diving.
Other players:
Four others made appearances during the three-game Cheetahs tour. Chris Massyn has since joined Chartres in the French Federale 1. Jasper Wiese was recruited by Leicester where he went on to win the Premiership title and get capped by the Springboks. The soon-to-be 39-year-old Pienaar continues to smash it for the Cheetahs after coming back from a serious knee injury. Meanwhile, Johannes Coetzee is also back at the Bloemfontein club following a stint at the start of this season with Bath.
Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments