In the first week of discussion of Super Rugby squad contenders for 2014 (23 to 29 December), we will discuss 2 positions in seperate Articles (Props & Hookers) and also seperate the Articles of the 5 SA Super Rugby participating franchises.

That means 10 Super Rugby Articles every week from now on.

The basic idea is to discuss the players IN the Super Rugby Group, and not all the options beyond that.

In this Article we look at the contenders for PROPS in the Toyota Cheetahs 2014 Super Rugby group, and whether they could force their way into Bok contention.

The Contenders:

Name: Coenie Oosthuizen:

Position Prop Height 1.83 Weight 127 Date of Birth March 22 1989 Place of Birth Potchefstroom Provincial Debut 2008 Provincial Caps 52 Provincial Points 55 Super Rugby Debut 2010 Super Rugby Caps 57 Super Rugby Points 40 Test Debut 2012 v England Test Caps 14 Test Points 10

Oosthuizen has become a expected name in the Springbok group, this has however come at a price where he has to play at tighthead prop instead of his regular loosehead spot.

Oosthuizen has proven the last couple of seasons that he is a force in world rugby and with ball in hand will try and run over basically any opposition player. Oosthuizen is solid in the scrum and does a good job at clearing out at ruck time.

A possible shift to tighead this season could be the move to cement his spot as starting tighthead for the Springboks.

Name: Trevor Nyakane:

Position Prop Height 1.78 Weight 110 kg Date of Birth May 4 1989 Place of Birth Bushbuckridge Provincial Debut 2010 Provincial Caps 39 Provincial Points 10 Super Rugby Debut 2012 Super Rugby Caps 27 Super Rugby Points 10 Test Debut 2013 v Italy Test Caps 3 Test Points 5

Nyakane has become a favourite at the Cheetahs with his willingness and eagerness during game time.

Nyakane made his debut earlier this season for the Springboks but was left out of the squad due to poor discipline. He is a solid player with his only downfall being his pace.

If Oosthuizen does start at tighthead this could see Nyakane cement his place as loosehead prop for the Cheetahs with hopes of a Springbok recall.

Name: Caylib Oosthuizen:

Position Prop Height 1.86 Weight 114 kg Date of Birth September 1 1989 Place of Birth Cape Town Provincial Debut 2011 Provincial Caps 10 Provincial Points 0 Super Rugby Debut 2012 Super Rugby Caps 6 Super Rugby Points 5 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

Born in Cape Town, Caylib started representative rugby with SWD in 2007  at the Academy week, and was also part of the SA Schools Academy team. He was signed by the Lions after being spotted in the Varsity Cup.  He was selected for the 2009 Junior Bok squad, for the IRB Junior World Championship. Having already  played Currie Cup  and Super rugby with the MTN Lions, Caylib is sure to benefit from more mentorship from Os du Randt.

He is a good and solid replacement, which we have seen in the Currie Cup where he has shown that he is able to scrum and run with the ball.

It is unlikely that Oosthuizen will lift either Nyakane or Coenie Oosthuizen from the starting lineup, as a replacement however he could make an impact at the Cheetahs and could see some regular game time off the bench.

Name: Rossouw de Klerk:

Position Prop Height 1.86 Weight 118 Date of Birth August 21 1989 Place of Birth Vredenburg Provincial Debut 2009 Provincial Caps 48 Provincial Points 5 Super Rugby Debut 2010 Super Rugby Caps 14 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

Born in Vredenburg, and a product of Paarl Gymnasium, Rossouw represented WP at the U/16 Grant Khomo week in 2005. He then moved to the Bulls straight out of school, and has represented the Bulls at U/21, Vodacom Cup, Currie Cup and Super Rugby.

De Klerk moved from the Bulls to the Cheetahs in 2013. De Klerk is the obvious choice for the Cheetahs at tighthead prop as he is the only experienced tighthead in the squad.

If Coenie Oosthuizen if not played at tighthead then De Klerk will most likely be a regular feature for the Cheetahs this season.

Name: Nick Schonert:

Position Prop Height 1.89 Weight 118 Date of Birth September 20 1991 Place of Birth Durban Provincial Debut 2012 Provincial Caps 19 Provincial Points 0 Super Rugby Debut Super Rugby Caps 0 Super Rugby Points 0 Test Debut Test Caps 0 Test Points 0

Schonert previously played his youth rugby with the Sharks and made one appearance for them during the 2012 Vodacom Cup. He then joined Griquas during the 2013 Vodacom Cup, making 6 appearances.

He was a member of the Junior Springboks Under 20 team that played in the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship and was also named in a South African Barbarians team to face Saracens.

He has made quite an impact, for him to be included in the Cheetah Super Rugby squad this year.

He is a recognized tighthead prop, which could see him get some game time as he is one of only two recognized tightheads in the squad. This will however depend on where Coenie Oosthuizen is played and deployed.

Starters:

The Cheetahs have a three to two split this year with 3 recognised looseheads and 2 tightheads or if you see Coenie Oosthuizen as a tighthead, then 2 looseheads and 3 tightheads.

The Cheethas are likely to use Trevor Nyakane as starting loosehead prop and Coenie Oosthuizen as tighthead, with Caylib Oosthuizen and Rossouw de Klerk on the bench.

It was made clear this season that Heyneke Meyer has plans for Coenie Oosthuizen at tighthead for the Springboks and I think the Cheetahs will follow suit in collaboration with the Springboks.

Many believe Coenie Oosthuizen’s experiment at tighthead is a failed one, and logic amongst them would dictate that Coenie Oosthuizen starts at loosehead, with Rossouw de Klerk at tighthead.

The next Article in the range will deal with the Cheetahs hookers.