The Cheetahs have announced that six players have signed contract extensions to remain at the union for the next three seasons.

Props Aranos Coetzee and Charles Marais and flanks Junior Pokomela and Aidon Davis have all signed until October 2022, while versatile forward Marnus van der Merwe agreed a deal until October 2023.

American scrumhalf Ruben de Haas has also had his stay in Bloemfontein extended by a year, until October 2021.

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Coetzee represented Namibia at the previous World Cups and was named the Cheetahs’ Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year award in 2017.

Davis is a former SA Schools and Junior Springbok loose forward, who previously played in France for Toulon and Bayonne. Pokomela has become a key player at the franchise since making his Super Rugby and Currie Cup debuts in 2017.

De Haas is a third-generation Free State player. His dad, Pieter, and grandfather, Gerard, both represented the union at provincial level. Born in George in the Southern Cape, De Haas grew up in Arkansas where he attended Jessieville High School. He represented USA at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Photo: Desire Fornell Miller