Francois Venter to join Worcester Warriors

Worcester Warriors have confirmed the signing of Springbok and Cheetahs centre Francois Venter, with the centre set to join the English club after the PRO14 season. 

“After careful consideration, I have decided to continue my rugby career at the end of the Guinness PRO14 season at the Worcester Warriors in England.  This was certainly the hardest decision I ever had to take because I’m so happy at the Toyota Cheetahs.  I would like to thank everyone at the end of the season,” said Francois Venter.  “For now I want to focus my attention on Saturday’s match.  There is still a lot of rugby to be played and our Toyota Cheetahs would like to win the Guinness PRO14.  I hope to see a lot of people in Toyota Stadium on Saturday – we really need your support.” 

The Cheetahs captain joined Free State side in 2014 after transferring from the Bulls following the 2013 Super Rugby season.  The hard-running centre was a member of the South African U20 team that competed in the 2010 and 2011 Junior World Championships.

He made his debut for the Bloemfontein-based team against the Lions on 15 Feb 2014 in Bloemfontein, and in 2015 he has played in all 16 Super matches, captaining the Toyota Cheetahs against the Highlanders in Bloemfontein on 16 May 2015.

In 2015 Venter had an exceptional year on the field and was selected for the Barbarians team at the end of the year.  His hard work paid off and he was rewarded by being chosen to lead the Cheetahs onto the field in 2016.  In 2016 Venter was included in the Springbok end of the year Europe tour. He made his Springbok Debut on 12 Nov 2016 against England.

In 2017 Francois Venter was included in the SA A squad against the French Barbarians, he captained their second and final encounter against the French Barbarians.

Venter played his 50th SuperRugby match on the 21 April 2017 against the Crusaders and made his Guinness PRO14 debut against Munster on the 9 September 2017 and played in 10 matches so far.

Venter made his international debut at Twickenham against England in November 2016 and has gone on to make seven appearances for the Springboks, scoring a try in last November’s win over Italy.