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Johannesburg - Free State Cheetahs wing Lionel Mapoe has signed a three year contract with the Golden Lions Rugby Union, the Johannesburg union confirmed on Wednesday.
"The past few months have been frustrating not playing, so I am glad everything is resolved and I am looking forward to new challenges," Mapoe said as he was handed his new jersey by Lions president Kevin de Klerk.
Mapoe has been in a contractual dispute with the Cheetahs for more than six months.
He had wanted to join the KwaZulu-Natal-based Sharks and moved to Durban while the dispute continued, practising with the Sharks throughout the Currie Cup.
When the High Court in Bloemfontein ruled that he had a binding contract with the Cheetahs, Mapoe appealed the decision.
He finally withdrew his appeal, making the transfer possible.
Lions CEO Manie Reyneke said they had not paid an astronomical transfer fee, but had settled the remainder of his contract with the Cheetahs, which was to finish in October 2011.
"We did not break the bank to acquire his services," he said.
