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

By Online Editors

16 Jul 2019

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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Frans 21 minutes ago

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i think Argentina v France could be a good game too, depending on which Argentina turns up. The most difficult to call is Scotland Australia.

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Bull Shark 30 minutes ago

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Australia definitely the game of the weekend. Wallabies by 3.

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tt 41 minutes ago

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Smith is playing a different game with the rest of the backs struggling to understand. That's the problem with so called playmakers, if nobody gets what they're doing then it often just leads to a turnover. It gets worse when Borthwick changes one of them, which is why they don't score points at the end. Sometimes having a brilliant playmaker can be problematic if a team cannot be built around them. Once again Borthwick seems lacking in either coaching or selection. I can't help but think it's the latter coupled with pressure to select the big name players.

Lastly, his forward replacements are poor and exposed either lack of depth or selection pressure. Cole hemorrhages scrum penalties whenever he comes on, opponents take advantage of the England scrum and close out the game. Is that the best England can offer?

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OJohn 1 hour ago

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Which Australian coaches would be acceptable to coach the All Blacks ?

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SF 1 hour ago

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I'm a SA'can and like Ben I hate the springboks.

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CC 1 hour ago

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I reckoned the springbok coach, has now started to underestimate Wales, sending 8players home? Really? It’s not yet over until it’s over Coach

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Utiku Old Boy 1 hour ago

David Campese takes back his Joe Schmidt coaching Australia criticism

I am waiting for your list of candidates. We had several from which to choose so give me some choice (your list) in Aussie candidates for the ABs. You imply that any Australian would be preferrable to Schmidt, yet E Jones and Cheika obviously didn't meet your standards either. Are you angry that Schmidt is far exceeding Jones? All Oz coaches you have quoted are from way back in time. When you had some choice. What you won't admit, is you got nobody better than a kiwi currently. Otherwise you would be putting them up. The fact you don't shows you are a blowhard because you want to groan about Schmidt purely on the basis he is kiwi - not his impressive results.

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LV 1 hour ago

Let's be real about these All Blacks

Another poorly written article. Well done Ben, keep up the good work!

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CC 1 hour ago

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SteveD 1 hour ago

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OJohn 1 hour ago

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Nothing would have been better. In the last 6 months of McKenzie's coaching, the Wallabies were really starting to hum. They were playing some brilliant rugby, even with no Pocock and came so close to winning the Bledisloe Cup. Only 3 points short I think.

Schmidt is a competent coach and after Jones destroying the Wallabies moral with picking useless Tah players (Bell is very good) any coach could have improved the Wallabies. We have achieved nothing so far really.

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SteveD 1 hour ago

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I'm afraid Gatland lost my respect with his uncalled for comments earlier in the year and his whinging about the so-called Boks' bad attitude in the Lions' 2021 tour. I also think he's not done my '6 nations' team much good this time round and they'll be well rid of him with his dated approach.

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SteveD 1 hour ago

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Ardy 1 hour ago

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He's coaching like Eddie V2 did in Australia...You need someone with bigger balls and an understanding of what to do to improve what is going on. It is a dynamic environment that is constantly changing as coaches dream up new ways to win. He is like an automaton of Eddie's creation.