Only one pro club in Scotland that participates in island wide professional games and they have to steal one of our most promising props… poor Cheetahs…
Sports 24 says Free State Cheetahs powerhouse (25) will join Edinburgh after this season’s Super Rugby season ends for three years. For a team used to often losing good players to the Sharks this must come as a massive blow after they had spent two seasons relatively free of player losses.
Edinburgh Rugby head coach Michael Bradley said: “We’re delighted to have signed WP Nel for the next three seasons; a player of the calibre, experience and expertise that we seek to attract to the club and to serve our ambitions to put Edinburgh Rugby among the top clubs in Europe.
“He has a lot of experience for a 25-year-old prop and will bring a huge amount to our performance on the pitch and to the development of the talented young props we have at the club.”
At Edinburgh Nel will join up with British and Irish Lion Ross Ford, who he played against in the Cheetahs’ loss to the touring side in 2009.
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February 15th, 2012 at 11:31 pm
Arme fokken Cheetahs…
February 16th, 2012 at 4:27 am
With the Boks so bare at TH and TH/LH bench cover… the surprisingly mobile WP could feel a bit hard-done by for not getting more chances… however both he and Coenie will get more caps this year under HM…
February 16th, 2012 at 8:42 am
This problem will grow and not only Cheetahs will be affected.
Its great for WP to get a shot at making good money while learning his trade in the northern hemisphere. What more can a prop ask?
I see many of our props do this soon, and we will find it increasingly difficult to keep quality props playing here. Meyer openly endorsing foreign players make the decision so much easier.
February 16th, 2012 at 11:19 am
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 8:42 am:
It’s the player’s choice and not necessarily a bad one from an experience and moolah perspective… but being the next-in-line TH (and TH/LH bench) option behind JDP… this smacks more of classic Jason Smith and World Artists hunting commissions…
As an aside HM has not ‘openly endorsed’ players moving OS… he said he’d hunt far and wide for the best Saffa’s, which could mean exactly what Snor did when he brought player’s back…
February 16th, 2012 at 11:26 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 11:19 am:
IMO the TH’s for the Bokke will be JdP and Kruger. Coenie has been working on being a utility prop (TH & LH) so that will push him in to the team as a bench option if he performs as well as he did last season.
WP I never rated as a Bok – love to watch him at the Cheetahs but a Bok?
February 16th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Reply to JT_BOKBEFOK! @ 11:26 am:
Yeah I kind of feel the same way about Kruger… his work-rate is simply non-existent… which is not the case with WP… also thought/think that at 190cm to WP’s 183cm Kruger was a bit tall for TH…
February 16th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 12:07 pm:
And IMO… the Cheetah’s front-row (including Strauss) despite having non-traditional locks are better scrummagers than the much bigger Greyling and Kruger (with Ralepelle)…
February 16th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Ugh not cool.
I wonder how long South Africa can still hold on to their best players. The pessimist in me feels that 10 years from now we will be selecting the bok team from overseas. Money talks – and that would be so sad for the fans in south africa.
I recon SARU should take a hard line approach. The player has to at least have played super rugby or currie cup to represent the boks – perhaps with Sabbatical clauses like with Dan Carter. But we need to delay the exodus for as long as possible…
February 16th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
Reply to Sasori @ 4:39 pm:
Don’t the Kiwis also suffer?
Oz?
The Frogs are doing the screwing.
February 16th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 5:30 pm:
not for too long – some clubs in France can’t keep it up and the Euro is on the brink anyway so expect to see a load of saffas returning soon!
February 16th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Yah and the Poms asre also starting to whinge about “overseas player numbers” affecting their local players’ talent development so I expect them to introduce “overseas professional” number limitation rules at some point too.
That will limit the biggest two markets for our players over there.
February 16th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 5:30 pm: How it affects them is neither here nor there. Point is how it affects South African rugby supporters, and the quality of live rugby that they can see.
Last thing any supporter wants is to see the best SA players playing for Saracens etc… instead of for Bulls, WP etc…
February 17th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Reply to Sasori @ 11:33 pm:
The price we pay for professionalism.
February 17th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Anyone seen the what I do memes?
Seen this one?
It’s for methos especially
February 17th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
Bryan Habana rugby:
what my friends think i do: they know what I do. They follow twitter.
what my mom thinks i do: loitering in capetown with my girlfriend hoping to make it onto top billing.
What society thinks I do: they dont care as they are watching soccer and Julius Malema
What my girlfriend thinks I do: Loitering around CapeTown hoping to get her and I (with our new pad) on to Top Billing
What I think I do: Display my anger at the injustice of it all
What I actually do: I knock the ball on and then shake my head for 80 minutes every saturday
February 18th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 11:20 pm:
Well, maybe not 80.
I’ll settle for 40.
Then again he forgot about the out
of position and missed tackles.
Make it 80.