Cheetahs break Puma hearts
It was heartbreak for the Pumas as they did everything other than finish the job in their narrow 23-29 Currie Cup defeat against the Cheetahs in Witbank on Friday.
The Pumas looked like they could pull off one of the great turnarounds in Currie Cup history when they led 23-17 with five minutes to playa against the side that beat them 80-16 this season.
However, that was not to be with the Cheetahs rallying in the dying stages of the match to score two late tries and seal a late victory and a bonus point.
The Cheetahs almost paid dearly for their arrogance early on, three times in a row turning down the opportunity to kick for posts in search of tries, but coming up empty handed against a staunch Pumas defence.
Handling errors did the Cheetahs no favours, but the team must take all credit for their ability to re-group and prevent what would have been a shock defeat.
The Pumas looked like a different side to the one that has had a torrid season, and did themselves proud with crunching tackling and outstanding commitment to the cause.
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse, names coach of the month for September, will be disappointed not to have secured the win, but proud of his team's efforts.
The Cheetahs scored the opening try when they sent the ball through the hands quickly. Ashley Johnson and then Robert Ebersohn drew in defenders before off-loading, and Philip van der Walt snatched a wide loose ball in mid-air and scored a superb try.
Moments later the Pumas struck back from inside the Cheetahs 22 with a simple scissors movement in backline, as Dewald Pretorius ran in off an angle and crashed through the defence to score a try and regain the lead at 10-7.
A second penalty from the boot of Bezuidenhout stretched out the lead to 13-7 just before half-time.
The Cheetahs were first on the board after the break thanks to big prop forward Marcel van der Merwe, who was used as a first receiver from just five metres out and was able to corkscrew his body in the tackle and stretch out to place the ball over the line.
In a change of tactics the Cheetahs decide to kick for posts an take the points instead of looking for an attacking line-out, and Sias Ebersohn was only too happy to bang the ball between the sticks.
Another Bezuidenhout penalty and then a brilliantly well worked try through pressure on the Cheetah tryline, scored by Pumas Jaco Bouwer meant the lead changed hands yet again at 23-17 to the Pumas.
Desperate defence finally proved costly for the Pumas, when lock Eduan van der Walt was yellow carded for hands in the ruck with just eight minutes to go.
With the numerical advantage the Cheetahs piled on the pressure and finally with four minutes left on the clock the defence finally faltered as Boom Prinsloo popped a ball on the blindside of a ruck to Sias Ebersohn from two metres off the line for a simple try. Ebersohn the kept his nerve from the sideline to add the vital conversion and take the lead by just one point.
In the final moments the Cheetahs forced their way up to the tryline once again, the ball went out wide and Andries Strauss crashed over the line to score an unexpected bonus point try.
Man of the Match: The play of Pumas flanks Corné Steenkamp and Jaco Bouwer was simply breathtaking, and they tackled their hearts out and were the hardest workingplayers on the field. For the Cheetahs Robert Ebersohn was inventive in midfield, while Philip van der Walt offered a lot of value at the breakdown. However, the best player was undoubtedly Pumas flank Jaco Bouwer.
Scorers:
For the Pumas:
Tries: Pretorius, Bouwer
Cons: Bezuidenhout 2
Pens: Bezuidenhout 3
Yellow card: Eduan van der Walt
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Van der Walt, Van der Merwe, S.Ebersohn, Andries Strauss
Cons: S.Ebersohn 3
Pen: S.Ebersohn
The teams:
Pumas: 15 MJ Mentz, 14 Wilhelm Loock, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Dewald Pretorius, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Christo le Roux, 7 Jaco Bouwer, 6 Corné Steenkamp (captain), 5 Eduan van der Walt, 4 JP Mostert, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Pellow van der Westhuizen, 1 Dawie Steyn.
Replacements: 16 Brett Nel, 17 Michael de Neuilly-Rice, 18 RW Kember, 19 Nico Mostert, 20 Hendrik van der Nest, 21 Coenie van Wyk, 22 Siviwe Magaba.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Philip Snyman, 11 Cameron Jacobs, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Pieter Labuschagne, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Marcel van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Boom Prinsloo, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Riaan Smit, 22 Andries Strauss.
By Timmy Hancox