Cheetahs secure hard-fought win over WP
REPORT: Cheetahs kept their unbeaten run intact with a hard-fought 24-17 win over the Western Province on Wednesday.
It was the WP who kept the free-scoring hosts pointless in a tightly contested first half to lead 3-0 at the halfway stage via a Kurt Wolhuter penalty.
However, the home side turned things around in the second stanza through three converted tries and a penalty goal while the Cape outfit managed to reply with two converted tries and a penalty goal.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The win kept the Free Staters unbeaten and in first place on the log standings with five wins in a row.
The teams were involved in a huge arm wrestle in the opening half and both sides would have been disappointed with the amount of handling errors which curtailed their attacking intentions.
It was the white jerseys who made a much better start in the second half and their decision to turn down a kickable penalty goal paid handsome dividends and actually paved the way for momentum to swing their way.
From a resultant lineout, Marnus van der Merwe worked his way over the try line and when skipper Ruan Pienaar slotted the conversion the home side edged into the lead 7-3.
Province thought they had scored their first try when Sergeal Petersen raced away for a long-range effort. However, he was called back for an earlier infringement.
The home team's mauling effort was one of their best weapons and they used this to good effect a few minutes later when Gideon van der Merwe was rewarded with their second try.
Pienaar was again target with to add the extras and give his team much more breathing space with the score at 14-3 in their favour.
After two strong runs in the lead-up, winger Angelo Davids did eventually got his try via an acrobatic effort in the left corner, which Wolhuter converted to reduce the deficit to 14-10 with just over ten minutes of play left on the clock.
Nama Xaba, the WP No.6 flank, was yellow-carded for a cynical foul and Pienaar was on hand to easily steer the resultant penalty goal through the poles to stretch the home lead to seven points.
A solid scrum laid the foundation for the Cheetah's third converted try scored by replacement back Reinhardt Fortuin which sealed the match. Replacement loose forward Roelof Smit managed to grab a late consolation try for WP after the siren.
Pienaar and his fellow experienced Springbok Frans Steyn were once hugely influential figures as the Free Staters stretched their unbeaten winning streak to five games.
Man of the match: It was a very challenging contest however the experience of Cheetahs' centre Frans Steyn proved to be the difference. He made strong runs and bullied the WP backline and therefore he gets our nod.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: M Van der Merwe, G van Der Merwe, Fortuin
Cons: Pienaar 2
Pen: Pienaar
For Western Province:
Tries: Davids, Smit
Cons: Wolhuter 2
Pen: Wolhuter,
Yellow card: Nama Xaba (Wesntr Province, 70 - deliberate foul)
Teams
Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Mihlali Mosi, 7 Jeandré Rudolph, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Ockie Barnard, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Dandrè Delport, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Marné Coetzee, 19 Sergio Moreira, 20 Andisa Ntsila, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 Rosko Specman.
Western Province: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Ben-Jason Dixon, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Kwenzo Blose.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Timothy Swiel, 23 Rikus Pretorius.
Referee: Morne Ferreira
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni and Jaco Kotze
TMO: Quinton Immelman
*Photo Credit: @WPRugby