Cheetahs face player exodus as European clubs swoop

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.