Cheetahs bolster front row stocks
The new signings are Luan de Bruin, Tom Botha, Gunther Janse van Vuuren and Johan Coetzee.
Luan played for the Free State Under-19 side in 2012 and the UFS Shimlas in the 2013 Varsity Cup competition, before he was selected in the SA U20 side that played in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France.
In 2013 he played for the Free State U21 side before playing in another Varsity Cup campaign for the UFS Shimlas the following year.
De Bruin's first taste of senior provincial rugby came during the 2014 Vodacom Cup competition when he made his debut against the EP Kings in Cradock.
He made his Super Rugby debut as a substitute for Springbok Coenie Oosthuizen against the Lions in Johannesburg in July 2014.
He is a regular on the field, appearing in all 11 of their Currie Cup matches during the 2015 season.
He has represented the Cheetahs in seven Super Rugby matches to date.
Tom Botha, who played an integral role in the scrum success of the EP Kings this year, has signed for two years with the Cheetahs.
He represented the Sharks U19 in the 2009 U19 Provincial Championship after returning to Cape Town for the 2010 season where he started in four matches for Western Province U21, helping them finish top of the log.
He made his debut for the senior side in the 2011 Vodacom Cup and was a key member of the team’s campaign in 2012.
He also played for Montpellier's victorious U23 side during the 2012–13 seasons.
He returned to South Africa in June 2014 to join the EP Kings.
Janse van Vuuren is another exciting recruit for the Bloemfontein-based franchise and the 20-year-old from Pretoria, who has been part of the Currie Cup team in 2016, has signed a two year contract with the Cheetahs.
Johan Coetzee represented the Leopards' U21 side and represented NWU-Pukke in the 2010 Varsity Cup.
He made his first class debut for the Leopards in 2010.
After the 2010 season he moved to France where he joined Top 14 side Racing Métro before moving to Brive the following year until 2015.
He switched allegiances to his country of birth, Namibia, and made his Test debut in their 2015 Africa Cup match against Tunisia in Nabeul.
Coetzee played in four matches for Namibia in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and has represented the Cheetahs in six Super Rugby matches in 2016.
