Steyn Leads International Charge To Bloemfontein

The Toyota Cheetahs will have a welcome boost of international experience when they return to the field after luring two-time Rugby World Cup winner Frans Steyn, experienced Blitzboks star Rosko Specman, and Namibian International Louis van der Westhuizen to Bloem.

The trio are among eight new players that have been recruited by the Guinness PRO14 franchise to replace a handful of players who have departed, while another Springbok, Oupa Mohoje (utility forward), has extended his contract with the Free Staters.

Steyn – a versatile back who has featured at flyhalf, centre, wing and fullback – has 67 Test caps to his name and is one of only two players who has won two Rugby World Cup titles with the Boks (in 2007 and 2019).

The 33-year-old Steyn joined the Toyota Cheetahs from French club Montpellier, but earlier in his career he also played for the Cell C Sharks, Toshiba Brave Lupus (Japan) and Racing Metro (France).

In a way, Steyn – one of only two Springboks who has lifted the Webb Ellis Cup twice in his career – has gone full circle, as he was schooled at the famous Grey College in Bloemfontein and also played Youth Week rugby for the Free State.

Specman – a two-time HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series winner with the Blitzboks and a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games – has decided to move back to Bloemfontein after representing the Vodacom Bulls in 2018 and 2019.

Van der Westhuizen (hooker) will also bring international experience in his role after representing Namibia in the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups in England and Japan.

They will be joined by a number of new players in the Toyota Cheetahs’ squad, including Howard Mnisi (centre), Reniel Hugo (utility forward), Andisa Ntsila (looseforward), Carl Wegner (lock) and Reinhardt Fortuin (flyhalf).

Mnisi, who ran out for the Toyota Cheetahs in the 2013 and 2014 seasons while on loan from Tafel Lager Griquas, returns after playing stints with the Emirates Lions and the Isuzu Southern Kings.

Hugo and Wegner, who ran out for the Toyota Verblitz club in Japan recently, are also no strangers to Bloemfontein. Hugo helped steer the Toyota Free State Cheetahs to the Currie Cup title in 2016 and represented the franchise in their inaugural Guinness PRO14 season (2017/18), while Wegner played for the Toyota Cheetahs on two separate occasions between his stints at Stade Francais and Verblitz.

Ntsila, who hails from Queenstown, also boasts Guinness PRO14 and Currie Cup and experience having represented the Isuzu Southern Kings and Cell C Sharks in the competitions respectively, while he also featured in the SA A team in 2017 against the French Barbarians.

Fortuin, in turn, moves into the senior ranks after making his mark for Maties in the FNB Varsity Cup, where he was guided by Toyota Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie.

The Isuzu Southern Kings, meanwhile, will welcome Cameron Wright (scrumhalf) to their ranks in September. The No 9, who was part of the Springbok squad for the Castle Lager Incoming Series in 2018, without getting game time, has played for the Cell C Sharks since 2014, while he also spent two seasons at Montpellier (from 2015 to 2017).