Cheetahs forked out R2 000 000 to reain Willie le Roux

Even though according to a newspaper report the Bulls, the Stormers and the Sharks made offers - Le Roux accepted the offer from the Cheetahs to sign a two year contract with the Cheetahs. There were also offers from Japan and France - but the fat that Le Roux mad the Springbok team negated those offers. Le Roux will finish his Griqua contract for the CC this year - but he is unlikely to play much rugby on CC level - since e will be on national duty virtually the whole of the CC season. He will move to the Cheetahs permanently after completion of the CC campaign this year.

I have 3 queries regarding this Mike.

1. How can the cheetahs retain willie le roux if he is contracted with Griquas. They are obtaining him if I am not mistaken :)

2. Where on earth do the cheetahs get this amount of money, aren't they the one's always complaining about not having the money to keep players. Obviously Griquas can't complete with that amount so if that is the offer on the table he will move.

3. If he accepts the deal, will he play for Free State in the Currie cup already? When will the move take place?

Ek As I made it out - the Griquas has a contract with Le Roux that ends this year after the CC competition. That is why Le Roux will complete his CC obligations to the Griquas this coming season and then from next year play for the Cheetahs on Super 15 level as well as the CC. However, there is very little opportunity for the Springboks to play CC games and he will be only available for a limited number of games. In that regard Le Roux has Super 15 obligations to the Cheetahs lasting at least another two weeks and will then not be available as from 17 August 2013 and only return if the Griquas manages to make the CC semis. That means he probably will play no more than 2 games on CC level this year. Where did the Cheetahs get the R2 000 000 from - heaven only knows. Maybe somebody provided the extra lolly for two years (R4 million) - but I think the Cheetahs may have gone on a fundraising drive to retain their top performers of this year - and reaching the play-off stage of the competition would also mean extra lolly. No - Le Roux will not play for the Cheetahs in the CC series this year - but will be in their CC squad for next years CC.

Guys, make no mistake, the Cheetahs have money, they are the Toyota Cheetahs after all. If they were Bob's Fish & Chips Cheetahs, there would be a problem. Yes they might not have as much money as the Bulls or Stormers, but they have still got big Sponsors behind them. So they are able to make decent offers for valuable players. As Mike mentioned, the Cheetahs are going to make the top 6 in this years Super Rugby tournament, and at his young age the Cheetahs have already provided the platform he needed to get a Bok call up. He is still very young so staying at the Cheetahs makes sense, bearing in mind what he has achieved while there. Also, later in his career he can chase the big bucks elsewhere.