**As the Toyota Cheetahs put together an impressive season that had them firmly in the hunt for a Guinness PRO14 Finals Series spot from Conference A, a number of players came to the fore.** Rhyno Smith was perhaps the star, Ruan Pienaar was a crucial experienced head dictating play from scrum-half, while Joseph Dweba and Benhard Janse van Rensburg increased their own burgeoning reputations. Another man to impress was full-back/winger Clayton Blommetjies, so often at the heart of Cheetahs’ scintillating attacking rugby – as proven by the fact he made 607 metres with ball in hand, third best in the entire league, from ten appearances this season. A relative veteran at 29 years old, he also featured in the league-wide top 20 for tries (four), clean breaks (11), offloads (eight) and carries (103). Here are five things you might not know about Blommetjies. **Shane Williams is his rugby hero** Despite having been born in Paarl and grown up in Boland, in the Western Cape province of South Africa, it was a Welshman who inspired Blommetjies to first take up the game – Shane Williams. Drawn to Williams’ small stature and incisive running, a young Blommetjies was eager to emulate the wing wizard’s exploits. As the man himself explained in a 2018 interview: “Shane is one of the players who inspired me to pick up a rugby ball. “He was as small guy like me and he didn’t try to run into people, he ran past them. “He was a great player because he was an all-rounder. He could catch the ball out of the air, he could kick, he was fast, he had great hands and his sidestep was world-class.” **He’s represented South Africa at four different levels** Blommetjies hasn’t quite managed to represent the senior Springboks XV man side – although he was rumoured to be on the verge of a call-up during his first spell with Cheetahs in Super Rugby – but has represented his country at four other levels. He first turned out for the SA Schools Academy in 2008, then the South Africa Students team the following year while studying at the University of Pretoria. He also represented the Springboks Under-20s and then, in 2012, had a spell with the South Africa Sevens side – perhaps unsurprising given his pace and lightning sidestep.
