Free State Rugby has secured the services of three top hookers, namely Torsten van Jaarsveld, Joseph Dweba and Jacques du Toit by signing them for 2017.

Torsten van Jaarsveld

Date of Birth:     30.06.1987

Weight:                105 kg

Height:                 1.75 m

Torsten van Jaarsveld represented the Blue Bulls' U18 Academy team in 2005 and was then contracted by the Valke where he played at U19 and U21 levels, representing UP Tuks in the inaugural edition of the Varsity Cup in 2008.

The hooker then signed for the Pumas where he quickly became a stalwart for the province, earning the club's Most Promising Player award in 2009. He was selected for the 2012 Northern Barbarians side for the June internationals against the touring England squad and has been contracted by the Cheetahs from the end of 2012.

Van Jaarsveld comes with a reputation as being a tough and hardworking hooker who has been forced to overcome a broken leg in 2009 and a season-ending medial ligament injury in 2012.

Although he wasn't initially in consideration for the Toyota Cheetahs at the start of the 2014 season, the Namibian-born hooker made his Super Rugby debut when coming off the bench in a 35-22 victory over the Stormers. He then made his first start in the competition against the Sharks, taking just eight minutes to score the first try of the match as the Toyota Cheetahs ran out 27–20 winners.

In July of 2014, Free State Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan announced that Van Jaarsveld would captain the side during the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division season, featuring in all 10 matches.

Internationally he played for the 2012 Northern Barbarians side against England. He made his test debut for the Namibian national team against Germany in Windhoek on 29 August 2014 and he was Namibia’s regular hooker in the starting team during 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

Torsten has represented the Toyota Cheetahs in 33 Super Rugby matches and is contracted with the team until the end of 2018.

Joseph Dweba

Date of Birth:     25.10.1995

Weight:                104 kg

Height:                 1.75 m

Joseph Dweba played junior rugby for the Golden Lions (U16: 2011 - U18: 2013) and he represented the South African Schools side (2013).

In 2014 he moved to Bloemfontein and remained in the thoughts of the national selectors.  He was called up into the South Africa U20 squad for the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand finishing as runners-up in the competition.

He returned to domestic action for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs U19 side (2014) and after playing a single match for Bloemfontein Crusaders in the 2015 SARU Community Cup and was included in the Toyota Free State XV for the 2015 Vodacom Cup competition, making his provincial first class debut against SWD Eagles.

As a member of the South African U20 team he started a friendly match against a Varsity Cup Dream Team (April 2015) and a month later he was included in the SA squad which toured to Argentina for two matches in May 2015.  Upon the team's return he was named in the final squad for the 2015 U20 World Rugby Championship helping South Africa to a 31–18 victory over France,  securing a third place in the competition.

Jacques du Toit

Date of Birth:     19.11.1993

Weight:                103 kg

Height:                 1.82 m

In 2011, Du Toit represented a Free State team which was crowned the unofficial champions at the U18 Craven Week tournament, beating the Golden Lions in the main match of the tournament.

After high school Du Toit joined the Free State Cheetahs Academy and was the first-choice hooker for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs U19 side.  Jacques was selected for the UFS Shimlas (2012) in the Varsity Cup competition.  In 2013 he played for the Toyota Free State Cheetahs U21s and he was selected for the South African side which finished third in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France.

In 2014-2015 he played for Shimlas in the Varsity Cup and played off the bench in the 2015 final as Shimlas ran out 63–33 winners over NWU Pukke to win the competition for the first time.

He made his first class debut for Toyota Free State XV playing off the bench in a Vodacom Cup victory over Kenyan invitational side Simba XV in 2013. He played in 9 of the 11 Currie Cup matches during the season – seven in the starting line-up.

Jacques has represented the Toyota Free State Cheetahs in 9 Currie Cup matches and 9 Super Rugby matches to date.