WP edge Cheetahs at the death

REPORT: A try at the death from Seabelo Senatla saw Western Province snatch a thrilling 31-30 victory against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Senatla’s second try came after the hooter and was enough for the visitors to claim the spoils in dramatic fashion.

Both teams got on the scoreboard early on with the flyhalves trading penalties before the Cheetahs came up with the opening try from flank Gideon van der Merwe.

They followed that up with a second from wing Daniel Kasande to take control before WP flyhalf Sacha Mngomezulu landed a penalty from the halfway line to bring the visiting team back into it at 17-9.

WP finished the first half with a sensational try from their own 22 as a cross-kick from Mngomezulu was plucked out of the air by Leolin Zas, who raced into the opposition 22.

The ball was quickly recycled and a few offloads from the forwards eventually resulted in No.8 Marcel Theunissen scoring to reduce the Cheetahs’ advantage to 17-16 at the half-time break.

The home side took their lead out to seven points with two penalties from flyhalf Siya Masuku early in the second half.

A fourth penalty from Mngomezulu got them within striking distance and WP took the lead with just 10 minutes left as Senatla got over for his first try after some good work from fullback Tristan Leyds to break the line.

The Cheetahs hit back soon afterwards with a try of their own from fullback Cohen Jasper, but WP would have the final say as Senatla scored in the corner after the hooter to snatch a thrilling win.

The scorers:

For WP XV:

Tries: Theunissen, Senatla 2

Cons: Mngomezulu 2

Pens: Mngomezulu 4

For Cheetahs:

Tries: Van der Merwe, Kasende, Jasper

Cons: Masuku 2, Thomson

Pens: Masuku 3

Cheetahs: 15. Cohen Jasper, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. David Brits, 12. Robert Ebersohn, 11. Rosko Specman, 10. Siya Masuku, 9. Tian Meyer, 8. Aidon Davis (captain), 7. Thembalani Bohli, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Rynier Bernardo, 4. Victor Sekekete, 3. Beertjie van Vuuren, 2. Wilmar Arnoldi, 1. Aluluthu Tshakweni.

Replacements: 16. Marnus van der Merwe, 17. Cameron Dawson, 18. Hanro Jacobs, 19. Jeandre Labuschagne, 20. Oupa Mohoje, 21. Zinedine Booysen, 22. Brandon Thomson, 23. Evardi Boshoff.

Western Province XV: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Cornel Smit, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Mngomezulu, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Nama Xaba (captain), 6 JJ Kotze, 5 Dylan de Leeuw, 4 Connor Evans, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Leon Lyons.

Replacements (from): 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Jarrod Taylor, 20 Romauld Ntumba, 21 Simon Miller, 22 Thomas Bursey, 23 Paschal Ekeji, 24 Mambo Mkhize, 25 Litha Nkula.

Source: @WP_RUGBY