The 18-year-old midfielder only matriculated from Grey College in Bloemfontein last year and headed to France straight out of school.

He becomes the fourth former Montpellier player to sign at the Cheetahs in the past two years after the Springboks, Ruan Pienaar and Frans Steyn, and the monstrous winger, Marcell Muller. Botha and Muller were teammates in the Grey 1st XV, along with George Cronjé, who recently signed from Clermont in France. While the trio played in the 1st XV for their alma mater they remained unbeaten.

Botha also played for the Free State during the 2019 Craven Week at Grey.

In an exclusive interview with OFM Sport, Botha said that he is excited to reunite with Muller and Cronjé, as well as Steyn and Pienaar.

“I’m really excited about joining Marcell and George at the Cheetahs because we’ve played together for two years and it was a great experience. We already have a great bond and I believe that is good when you play in the same team.

“I am also excited about joining Frans and Ruan because we also have something in common. I trained with a Frans at Montpellier and I look forward to forming a stronger bond with him. There is also something that I shared with Ruan; we played for the same club. I feel if we have something in common and it's a great place to start forming bonds and it is important if we are going to play in the same team one day.”

Botha added that he is a Free Stater through and through, but he has no regrets going to France, because he learnt a lot about himself while living abroad.

“I don’t regret coming back to Bloemfontein because I love the Free State and I grew up here. Having said that, I also don’t regret going to France, even though it was only for a short time. There I learnt that you don’t have to rely on someone bigger, better or richer than you to make yourself the best that you can be. If you just believe in yourself and have hope you can fulfill your dreams any place and anywhere. I don’t have to rely on a place, someone or a club fulfill my dreams. I believe I can fulfill my dreams in the Free State and I am really excited to carry on with my journey here.”

While Botha will only be turning 19-years-old in July, he has already set himself some ambitious goals and he is clearly determined to represent the Cheetahs at the highest level but believes that this alone will not be enough.

“I want to play for the PRO14 and Currie Cup, and I will give it my all to play for both teams as soon as possible. One of my main reasons for coming back to South Africa is because I am a South African at heart. I am ready to give my all for this country and I am never going to give up. I am going to play as hard as I can to play for the Junior Springboks and hopefully one day for the Springboks as well. I feel that if I stayed in France I would be giving up my chance to play for South Africa, and that is the last thing that I want to do. Playing for South Africa is my biggest dream.”

Botha’s contract that the Cheetahs will start on 1 November 2020, and will run until 31 October 2022.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport