Hooker Jacques du Toit has confirmed his move from the Cheetahs to join the Kings for the upcoming Pro14 season.

The 25-year-old, who made his debut for Free State in 2014, announced the move with a heartfelt post on Instagram, saying his decision to quit to Cheetahs was driven by a lack of game time in the starting lineup.

Du Toit is excited to play for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup final this week and by the prospect of adding a second winners’ medal to his collection, having also done so when they won the title in 2016.

 

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Mixed feelings is the only way I can describe how I’m feeling. I’m really excited about heading into my second Currie Cup final with the Cheetahs. It will however be my last week with the team before joining the Southern Kings for the next Pro 14 season. I’ve been involved with the Cheetahs for almost 5 years, excluding my 3 years as a junior and what a roller coaster it’s been. Bloemfontein is the place where I was born, raised, married and became a dad. It’s also where I trained and played my heart out every chance I got. I’m not someone who often speaks about myself or my setbacks because I would rather focus on the positive things in life. Although I have enjoyed my time at the Cheetahs there were some tough times too. Not being selected for the team and dealing with long term injuries are things that many young sports people have to face. We connect our worth team selection and winning matches and we feel devastated when our name is not called or when we lose. I haven’t had the opportunity to wear the starting jersey as much as I would have liked, but I had to make a choice that my attitude and my worth was connected to my purpose and my faith. So if I play 80 minutes or sit on the bench for 80 minutes, my goal is always to keep on working towards the person and the player God created me to be. Ready to give it my all this week I’m leaving it all on the field By God’s grace #newbeginnings

A post shared by Jacques Du Toit (@jacquesdt02) on Sep 1, 2019 at 10:32pm PDT

Photo: Gallo Images