The Ospreys and the Toyota Cheetahs have agreed to develop a player development partnership. This new partnership will be beneficial for both clubs as it will enable them to provide future fit opportunities for growth and development.
As part of the partnership, three Cheetahs players have joined the Ospreys on a short-term loan. These include: Daniel Kasende, a lightning fast winger, Marnus van der Merwe, a South African hooker who made his Pro14 debut against the Ospreys back in 2018, and Rewan Kruger, a scrum half who has represented South Africa at under 20 level.
The rugby partnership between the Ospreys and the Toyota Cheetahs will help reinforce the squad throughout what is set to be a challenging season and promote players within the teams to experience diverse opportunities and grow as professionals.
Under this new player development partnership, players from the Toyota Cheetahs will have the opportunity to join the Ospreys squad, enabling them to experience a different rugby culture, style of play, and gain invaluable exposure to the BKT URC. Likewise, Ospreys players will have the opportunity to join Cheetahs, benefiting from the experience gained playing alongside the Currie Cup winners in South Africa.
Speaking on the collaboration, Ospreys Rugby General Manager, Dan Griffiths said, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Cheetahs Rugby. The partnership will create opportunities to reinforce our squad at critical periods of the season, improve our ability to manage injury and player load whilst contributing to our on field performances. We are also excited to work with the Cheetahs to explore rugby and life experiences for our talented developing players. In challenging times we have to be innovative in our approach and our relationship with the Cheetahs is one of the ways we are driving that ambition.”
Cheetah’s CEO, Ross van Reenen commented, “The new player development partnership between us and the Ospreys is an exciting new opportunity not only for both teams, but the sport as a whole and we’re excited to be leading the way. The partnership opens a platform for shared skills and learnings across cultures and styles to help build the development of both teams.”
