In the 2018–19 rugby union season, the participated in the 2018–19 Pro14 competition, their second appearance since joining the competition in 2017–18. The remained in Conference A of the competition, along with Irish sides and , Italian side , Scottish side and Welsh sides and .

Personnel

Coaches and management

The Cheetahs coaching and management staff for the 2018–19 Pro14 season are:

2018–19 Cheetahs coaches and management Position Name Head coach Franco Smith Scrum coach Daan Human Lineout coach Corniel van Zyl Defence coach Charl Strydom Skills and kicking coach Albert Keuris Conditioning coach Quintin Kruger Team manager Ashwell Rafferty

Squad

The Cheetahs squad for the 2018–19 Pro14 is:

2018–19 Cheetahs squad Player Position/s Date of birth (age) Pro14 Cheetahs Apps Pts Apps Pts Darren Adonis Outside back – – – – Dian Badenhorst Scrum-half – – – – Justin Basson Lock 13 0 13 0 Adriaan Carelse Fullback – – – – Aranos Coetzee Prop 22 0 22 0 Carel-Jan Coetzee Centre / wing – – – – Louis Conradie Lock – – – – Aidon Davis Loose forward – – – – Luan de Bruin Prop 1 0 1 0 Ruben de Haas Scrum-half – – – – Erich de Jager Prop 2 0 2 0 JP du Preez Lock – – – – Jacques du Toit Hooker 18 5 18 5 Joseph Dweba Hooker 1 0 1 0 Ryno Eksteen Fullback – – – – Louis Fouché Fly-half / fullback – – – – Lloyd Greeff Wing 15 10 2 0 Elandré Huggett Hooker – – – – Malcolm Jaer Fullback 3 5 3 5 Benhard Janse van Rensburg Centre 5 4 – – Günther Janse van Vuuren Prop – – – – Niell Jordaan Loose forward 2 0 2 0 Johan Kotze Prop – – – – Tertius Kruger Centre 2 0 2 0 Nico Lee Centre 14 30 14 30 Daniel Maartens Flank 2 0 2 0 Tapiwa Mafura Fullback – – – – Stephan Malan Eighth man – – – – Sintu Manjezi Lock – – – – Charles Marais Prop 20 0 20 0 Vuyani Maqina Wing – – – – Rabz Maxwane Wing 8 25 8 25 Tian Meyer Scrum-half 16 15 16 15 Ali Mgijima Centre 3 0 3 0 Zee Mkhabela Scrum-half 9 0 9 0 Oupa Mohojé Flank 16 10 16 10 Ox Nché Prop 22 15 22 15 Abongile Nonkontwana Flank – – – – Gerhard Olivier Flank 1 0 1 0 Rudy Paige Scrum-half – – – – Junior Pokomela Flank 10 5 10 5 Sibabalo Qoma Lock – – – – Tian Schoeman Fly-half – – – – William Small-Smith Wing / centre 15 26 15 26 Rhyno Smith Outside back – – – – Jannes Snyman Hooker – – – – Niell Stannard Fly-half – – – – Ernst Stapelberg Fly-half 6 72 6 72 Walt Steenkamp Lock – – – – Dries Swanepoel Centre – – – – Marnus van der Merwe Hooker – – – – Luigy van Jaarsveld Eighth man – – – – Boan Venter Prop – – – – Henco Venter Flank 17 5 17 5 Reinach Venter Hooker – – – – Shaun Venter Scrum-half 16 15 16 15 Ntokozo Vidima Lock – – – – Dennis Visser Lock 1 0 1 0 Quintin Vorster Prop – – – – Jasper Wiese Eighth man 2 0 2 0 Note: Players' ages and statistics are correct as of 1 September 2018, the date of the opening round of the competition. Pro14 appearances only.

Player movements

Player movements between the 2017–18 Pro14 season and the end 2018–19 Pro14 season are as follows:

transfers 2018–2019 Pos 2017–18 squad Out In 2018–19 players PR Tom Botha Aranos Coetzee Luan de Bruin Erich de Jager Günther Janse van Vuuren (did not play) Johan Kotze (did not play) Charles Marais Ox Nché Tom Botha (to Ospreys) Boan Venter (from ) Quintin Vorster (from ) Aranos Coetzee Luan de Bruin Erich de Jager Günther Janse van Vuuren Johan Kotze Charles Marais Ox Nché Boan Venter Quintin Vorster HK Jacques du Toit Joseph Dweba Elandré Huggett (did not play) Torsten van Jaarsveld Reinach Venter (did not play) Torsten van Jaarsveld (to ) Jannes Snyman (from ) Marnus van der Merwe (from ) Jacques du Toit Joseph Dweba Elandré Huggett Jannes Snyman Marnus van der Merwe Reinach Venter LK Justin Basson Rynier Bernardo Reniel Hugo Armandt Koster Hilton Lobberts (did not play) Dennis Visser Carl Wegner Rynier Bernardo (to Canon Eagles) Reniel Hugo (to Toyota Verblitz) Armandt Koster (to ) Hilton Lobberts (to ) Carl Wegner (to Toyota Verblitz) Louis Conradie (from ) JP du Preez (from ) Sintu Manjezi (from ) Sibabalo Qoma (from ) Walt Steenkamp (from ) Justin Basson Louis Conradie JP du Preez Sintu Manjezi Sibabalo Qoma Walt Steenkamp Dennis Visser FL Uzair Cassiem Chris Dry (loan) Daniel Maartens Oupa Mohojé Gerhard Olivier Paul Schoeman Henco Venter Ntokozo Vidima (did not play) Jasper Wiese Uzair Cassiem (to Scarlets) Chris Dry (returned to South Africa Sevens) Paul Schoeman (to ) Henco Venter (to Toshiba Brave Lupus) Stephan Malan (from ) Abongile Nonkontwana (from ) Luigy van Jaarsveld (from ) Daniel Maartens Stephan Malan Oupa Mohojé Abongile Nonkontwana Gerhard Olivier Luigy van Jaarsveld Ntokozo Vidima Jasper Wiese N8 Niell Jordaan Junior Pokomela Aidon Davis (from ) Aidon Davis Niell Jordaan Junior Pokomela SH Tian Meyer Zee Mkhabela JP Smith (did not play) Ruan van Rensburg (did not play) Shaun Venter JP Smith (to ) Ruan van Rensburg (to ) Dian Badenhorst (from ) Ruben de Haas (from ) Rudy Paige (from ) Dian Badenhorst Ruben de Haas Tian Meyer Zee Mkhabela Rudy Paige Shaun Venter FH Ryno Eksteen (did not play) Johan Goosen Niel Marais Robbie Petzer Ernst Stapelberg Fred Zeilinga Johan Goosen (to ) Niel Marais (to Yamaha Júbilo) Robbie Petzer (to ) Fred Zeilinga ( Canon Eagles) Louis Fouché (from Kubota Spears) Tian Schoeman (from ) Niell Stannard (from ) Ryno Eksteen Louis Fouché Tian Schoeman Niell Stannard Ernst Stapelberg CE Rayno Benjamin Lloyd Greeff Tertius Kruger Nico Lee Ali Mgijima William Small-Smith Clinton Swart Francois Venter Rayno Benjamin (to ) Clinton Swart (to Toyota Verblitz) Francois Venter ( Worcester Warriors) Benhard Janse van Rensburg (from ) Dries Swanepoel (from ) Lloyd Greeff Benhard Janse van Rensburg Tertius Kruger Nico Lee Ali Mgijima William Small-Smith Dries Swanepoel WG Makazole Mapimpi Rabz Maxwane Luther Obi Sergeal Petersen Raymond Rhule Rosko Specman Lihleli Xoli (did not play) Makazole Mapimpi (to ) Luther Obi (injured) Sergeal Petersen (to ) Raymond Rhule (to ) Rosko Specman (returned to South Africa Sevens) Lihleli Xoli (not named) Darren Adonis (from ) Carel-Jan Coetzee (from ) Vuyani Maqina (from ) Darren Adonis Carel-Jan Coetzee Vuyani Maqina Rabz Maxwane FB Cecil Afrika (on loan) Craig Barry (on loan) Clayton Blommetjies AJ Coertzen Malcolm Jaer Cecil Afrika (returned to South Africa Sevens) Craig Barry (returned to ) Clayton Blommetjies (to Scarlets) AJ Coertzen (to ) Adriaan Carelse (from ) Tapiwa Mafura (from ) Rhyno Smith (on loan from ) Adriaan Carelse Malcolm Jaer Tapiwa Mafura Rhyno Smith (on loan) Coach Rory Duncan Rory Duncan (to Worcester Warriors) Franco Smith (from Director of Rugby) Franco Smith

Standings

The final Conference A log standings were:

2018–19 Pro14 Conference A Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts 1 21 16 0 5 621 380 +241 83 48 15 2 81 2 21 16 0 5 612 348 +264 82 44 11 2 77 3 21 12 0 9 475 394 +81 60 55 7 6 61 4 21 12 0 9 445 404 +41 53 47 6 4 58 5 21 10 0 11 497 451 +46 60 58 7 7 54 6 21 8 1 12 541 606 −65 80 80 9 3 46 7 21 3 0 18 260 640 −380 35 86 5 2 19

Round-by-round

The table below shows the Cheetahs' progression throughout the season. For each round, their cumulative points total is shown with the conference position:

Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 R16 R17 R18 R19 R20 R21 QF SF Final Opposition Cumulative Points 0 0 1 4 5 5 9 11 16 17 22 26 31 36 36 36 36 36 36 41 46 Position 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th Key: win draw loss bye

Matches

The Cheetahs' matches in the 2018–19 Pro14 were:

Player statistics

The Pro14 appearance record for players that represented the Cheetahs in 2018–19 is as follows:

2018–19 Cheetahs player statistics Player name App Try Con Pen DG Pts Ox Nché 1 1 17 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 16 2 0 0 0 10 Jacques du Toit 2 2 16 16 16 2 16 16 16 8 1 0 0 0 5 Luan de Bruin 3 3 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 3 3 12 1 0 0 0 5 Justin Basson 4 4 19 19 4 19 4 19 4 4 19 19 12 0 0 0 0 0 JP du Preez 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 20 19 5 5 5 20 19 5 5 20 0 0 0 0 0 Junior Pokomela 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 6 7 7 7 8 17 3 0 0 0 15 Oupa Mohojé 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jasper Wiese 8 8 20 4 20 20 20 20 8 1 0 0 0 5 Shaun Venter 9 9 22 21 22 22 9 9 9 9 22 22 9 9 9 23 22 9 9 9 20 10 0 0 0 50 Tian Schoeman 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 22 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 21 2 59 2 0 134 William Small-Smith 11 11 14 14 14 14 12 14 23 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 19 5 0 0 0 25 Nico Lee 12 12 12 12 12 12 23 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 15 3 0 0 0 15 Benhard Janse van Rensburg 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 23 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 20 6 1 1 0 35 Rabz Maxwane 14 14 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 20 14 0 0 0 70 Malcolm Jaer 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 22 15 6 0 0 0 30 Joseph Dweba 16 16 2 2 2 16 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 16 2 2 2 18 6 0 0 0 30 Charles Marais 17 17 1 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 1 17 1 1 1 1 19 0 0 0 0 0 Aranos Coetzee 18 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 17 17 3 21 0 0 0 0 0 Walt Steenkamp 19 19 4 4 4 19 4 4 5 20 20 5 5 20 4 4 5 5 4 4 20 2 0 0 0 10 Aidon Davis 20 7 8 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 Tian Meyer 21 21 9 9 9 9 21 22 9 9 9 22 23 9 9 14 14 16 0 0 0 0 0 Ernst Stapelberg 22 22 23 2 0 0 0 0 0 Ryno Eksteen 23 23 23 23 15 3 0 0 0 0 0 Gerhard Olivier 20 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 6 6 8 8 8 8 6 21 6 6 18 2 0 0 0 10 Marnus van der Merwe 21 21 16 16 2 2 20 2 16 16 9 0 0 0 0 0 Günther Janse van Vuuren 18 18 18 18 1 0 0 0 0 0 Dennis Visser 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 Niell Jordaan 20 8 8 6 8 21 21 7 0 0 0 0 0 Stephan Malan 20 20 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 Louis Fouché 22 23 15 22 23 22 10 23 23 15 15 15 23 22 22 15 14 3 3 2 0 27 Daniel Maartens 21 20 20 8 20 8 8 6 8 3 0 0 0 15 Abongile Nonkontwana 21 20 21 20 7 21 21 7 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 16 2 0 0 0 10 Ali Mgijima 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rhyno Smith 14 15 14 14 4 1 0 0 0 5 Reinach Venter 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 2 18 18 18 16 12 3 0 0 0 15 Erich de Jager 18 18 18 3 17 18 6 0 0 0 0 0 Sintu Manjezi 19 19 4 19 19 4 4 19 19 19 4 4 19 19 14 1 0 0 0 5 Rudy Paige 21 21 22 22 23 22 22 21 21 21 10 0 0 0 0 0 Darren Adonis 11 23 23 3 0 0 0 0 0 Dries Swanepoel 23 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 8 1 0 0 0 5 Henco Venter 21 21 21 8 8 8 8 7 1 0 0 0 5 Carel-Jan Coetzee 23 1 0 0 0 0 0 Boan Venter 17 1 1 0 0 0 5 Total 21 80 63 5 0 541 (c) denotes the team captain. For each match, the player's squad number is shown. Starting players are numbered 1 to 15, while the replacements are numbered 16 to 23. If a replacement made an appearance in the match, it is indicated by . "App" refers to the number of appearances made by the player, "Try" to the number of tries scored by the player, "Con" to the number of conversions kicked, "Pen" to the number of penalties kicked, "DG" to the number of drop goals kicked and "Pts" refer to the total number of points scored by the player. Dian Badenhorst, Adriaan Carelse, Louis Conradie, Ruben de Haas, Lloyd Greeff, Elandré Huggett, Johan Kotze, Tertius Kruger, Tapiwa Mafura, Vuyani Maqina, Zee Mkhabela, Sibabalo Qoma, Jannes Snyman, Niell Stannard, Luigy van Jaarsveld, Ntokozo Vidima and Quintin Vorster were named in the squad, but were never included in a matchday squad.

See also

Cheetahs Pro14

References