Cheetahs survive huge Griffons fightback in Welkom

MATCH REPORT: The Cheetahs survived a sensational fightback from the Griffons to record a 47-45 win in a Currie Cup Round Four match in Welkom on Friday.

The team from Bloemfontein were leading 33-0 after 35 minutes before they allowed the home side back into the game with some quick tries before and after half-time.

The Griffons ran the Cheetahs ragged in the second half and the visitors can count themselves lucky that they walked away with the five points.

After a sloppy start by both teams, the Cheetahs eventually opened the scoring when Carl Wegner crashed over for a try in the 14th minute.

After sustained pressure, the Cheetahs were in again in the 23rd minute when Carel-Jan Coetzee bounced off a couple of defenders on his way to the tryline.

Things got worse for the Griffons in the 26th minute when Cheetahs prop Aranos Coetzee pounced on a loose ball after a big tackle and raced away to score the third try.

Griffons centre Keanu Vers was shown a yellow card in the 30th minute after his team’s repeated infringements. Not long after that, the Cheetahs secured the bonus point after Corne Fourie found his way to the tryline after a powerful driving maul.

After Daniel Maartens scored the Cheetahs’ fifth try, the visitors were also reduced to 14 men in the 38th minute after Cohen Jasper was pinged for a deliberate knock-on and a penalty try was awarded to the Griffons.

The home side ended the half on a high with Thato Mavundla running a good line to break through the Cheetahs’ defence on his way to the tryline.

It seemed momentum was on Griffons’ side now and they started the second half excellently.

Wing Gurshwin Wehr showed his speed and guile to break through the Cheetahs’ defence before feeding the ball to Rian Olivier who sprinted in for a try in the 42nd minute.

However, the Griffon suffered a blow in the 50th minute when they allowed the Cheetahs to get a penalty try after collapsing a maul and some salt was rubbed in the wounds when Chadley Wenn was yellow-carded for the offence.

Despite being a man down, the home side scored their fourth try in the 58th minute when fullback Kyle Cyster showed his speed to beat the Cheetahs’ defence from close range.

The game turned into a thriller in the 60th minute when Wehr was put into space in the midfield to sprint away for another try for the home side.

Qamani Kota made it a seven-point ball game with his third conversion of the game.

Not long after that, the Griffons were level when some great interplay from the backline players resulted in another try for Cyster. Kota followed that up with another conversion.

However, the Cheetahs were back in front in the 65th minute after Neels Volschenk broke away from a powerful scrum to sprint in for a five-pointer. Abner van Reenen made it a seven-point lead with the conversion.

The Cheetahs thought they were in again moments later, but play was brought back for an accidental offside in the middle of the field.

With less than three minutes left on the clock, Wehr found himself in the first receiver role for the Griffons in his own half and his quick feet were too much for the Cheetahs as he raced away for a sensational try.

However, Kota missed the conversion.

The Griffons had one final attack to win the game at the death, but they couldn’t hold onto possession when it mattered.

Man of the match: The Griffons speedsters were sensational in the game. Gurshwin Wehr scored two tries and he cut the Cheetahs’ defence to shreds on a few occasions. However, the award goes to his teammate Kyle Cyster, who was a hard man to contain. He also scored two great tries and was a joy to watch when he had the ball.

The scorers:

For Griffons:
Tries: Penalty Try, Mavundla, Olivier, Cyster 2, Wehr 2
Cons: Kota 4

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Wegner, CJ Coetzee, A Coetzee, Fourie, Maartens, Penalty Try, Volschenk
Cons: Wentzel 4, Van Reenen

Yellow cards: Keanu Vers (Griffons, 30′ – repeated infringements); Cohen Jasper (Cheetahs, 38′ – cynical play, deliberate knock-on); Chadley Wenn (Griffons, 50′ – cynical play, collapsing the maul

Teams:

Griffons: 15 Kyle Cyster, 14 Qamani Kota, 13 Keanu Vers, 12 Robbie Petzer, 11 Gurshwin Wehr, 10 Duan Pretorius (captain), 9 Cheslin Arendse, 8 Orateng Koikanyang, 7 Rian Olivier, 6 Thato Mavundla, 5 Matthew Gray, 4 Joshua Paris, 3 Edwin Nxumalo, 2 Willem van der Hever, 1 Xolani Jacobs.
Replacements: 16 Chadley Wenn, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Moango Ngundue, 19 Curtly Thomas, 20 Jared Kruger, 21 David Bunduki, 22 Keegan Schaefer, 23 Gilroy Philander.

Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Rewan Kruger (captain), 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Corne Fourie, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Pierre-Raymond Uys, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Abner van Reenen, 23 Munier Hartzenberg.

Referee: Sean Muller
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Ben Crouse