Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie has been impressed by the performances of CUT Ixias fullback Cohen Jasper during this year's Varsity Cup.
The 20-year-old Jasper has scored five tries for the Ixias, who have been the season's surprise packages with five wins from six matches.
Their most notable scalp was a last-gasp 23-18 win over defending champions Maties, where Jasper scored the deciding try.
Scenes????! Cohen Jasper the hero as @cutfsonline beat defending champs @MatiesSport with the last play of the game!#RugbyThatRocks pic.twitter.com/qd0ijV0zlo
— Varsity Cup (@varsitycup) April 30, 2021
Jasper, who is contracted to the Cheetahs until the end of October, represented the Free State Under-20 team in last year's SA Rugby U20 Championship, before linking up with CUT for the Varsity Cup.
The Varsity Cup's official website reports that the player will start training with the Cheetahs senior side from 1 June and is likely to play in the Currie Cup Premier Division later this year.
Fourie said Jasper reminded him of Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe.
"Cohen is in the Cheslin Kolbe mould. He's not a big guy (1.74m and 77kg) but he has a lot of skill and the ability to score tries. He has that X-factor.
"Once he starts training with us we will decide where and when to give him playing opportunities, but fullback is his primary position so he will be competing with the likes of Clayton Blommetjies and Malcolm Jaer," Fourie said.
Fourie added that he's kept his eye on the player during the Varsity Cup.
"He's showed his class. He's an excellent attacking fullback, runs very good support lines whenever there's a line break and is a superb finisher."
The CUT Ixias are currently third on the 10-team Varsity Cup standings, four points behind leaders UCT Ikeys.