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Cheetahs face player exodus as European clubs swoop
By Alex Shaw
After a tumultuous summer of "will they" or "won't they", the Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings have begun to find their feet in the Guinness PRO14.
The Kings, who lost a cadre of their stars before the season begun, are still winless in the competition, but the Cheetahs are a different animal. With three wins from their opening six games, the Bloemfontein-based side currently occupy third spot in Conference A, a position that would see them qualify for the playoffs at the end of the season.
The introduction of the South African teams to the competition has elicited a new stream of broadcast revenue for the competition, whilst it has also opened the door to further South African involvement. This is something which the South African Rugby Union (SARU) is keen to build on, with the Super Rugby status quo with their other southern hemisphere nations not as financially rewarding as they would like it to be.
However, there are negatives surrounding this move and the fears of an even more rapid exodus of players from South Africa could be about to come true.
As RugbyPass understands it, over 15 players in the Cheetahs' senior squad are the target of interest from European clubs, who now get a pitch-side seat to view these players on a weekly basis.
Some players have already been approached, whilst others are still at a more informal stage, but sources have confirmed that the money on offer to these players well exceeds what they could hope to earn at the Cheetahs or another South African franchise.
The Cheetahs have the likes of Oupa Mohojé, Uzair Cassiem, Raymond Rhule and Francois Venter in their ranks - all current Springboks - as well as a host of talented youngsters that could go on to become mainstays in the South African national team, such as Ox Nché, Sergeal Petersen and Junior Pokomela.
Any of these players would be highly-coveted by European clubs and losing them would significantly derail the Cheetahs' ambitions in the competition over the coming seasons.
This will be one to keep an eye on as the 2017/18 season continues to unfold.
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Latest Comments
Italians defended well. Luckily the scrums went well for the ABs.
Go to commentsYou were 'valuing' the players by you saying "they are not greats" though, I was pointing out another reason why they are greats, inside the team I mean (which is more important to selections on the pitch stuff).
Someone like TJ would be bitterly disappointed he didn't play on this end of year tour. He is still good enough to come on in that France game and ensure the team get the victory (with regards to how well Ratima had been playing). At the very least this is a 'sorry you didn't get that chance' offering, he's not here to get token farewell games, he will be playing to try and prove that he should have been on the pitch last week.
The other decision to play your best over the future is really personal though so can agree with your reasoning. Just sharing a slightly different perspective. I'll have to check the ratings and see how they went.
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