Cheetahs' comeback floors WP

MATCH REPORT: The Cheetahs continue to build on their winning streak with an empathic 28-21 win over the Western Province at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.

The Bloemfontein side staged an incredible comeback as they came back from 7-21 down to secure the win.

*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!

The Western Province looked very impressive as they took a 16-7 lead at the halfway stage through one converted try by Tristan Leyds and three penalty goals.

The Cape Town side added another seven points just after the break.

However failed to find their extra gear as the Free Staters turned things around and clinch the game through three well-constructed, converted tries in the second half.

Thanks to their bonus-point win, the Hawies Fourie coached side remains unbeaten and move to within one point of the Bulls (32 points) on the league table, having played one game less than the men from Pretoria.

The fixture at the Cape Town Stadium was one of contrasting fortunes for the two sides. The first half belonged to the fired-up home side, while the Free State visitors played much better in the second half to maintain their unbeaten status in the competition.

It was also a memorable occasion for Cheetahs prop Aranos Coetzee, who played in his 100th match for the Free State side. The 34-year old forward has also played in 24 Tests for Namibia.

WP made all the play in the opening ten minutes and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Credit however to the Free Staters who defended intelligently to keep the home side at bay. Province also opted not to go for posts with a couple of penalties awarded to them close to the visiting try-line.

In contrast, the Cheetahs made good on their assault on the home try-line when prop Alulutho Tshakweni dived over for his maiden provincial try, with skipper Ruan Pienaar adding the extras.

Pivot Tim Swiel then got Province on the scoreboard with a straightforward penalty goal. (7-3).

With the home side camping in their opponents’ 22m territory and conceding penalties at regular interval, referee AJ Jacobs punished Tshakweni with a yellow card for a repeated offence. This allowed Swiel to step up and to steer the easy goal attempt over (7-6).

Tristan Leyds, the WP fullback, handed his team the halftime lead when he scored a fine individual try which Swiel converted, while the No 10 also added a third penalty kick to stretch the halftime lead to 16-7 in favour of the Cape side.

Angelo Davids (wing) gave the home team a perfect second half start when he was on hand to take a final pass and dot down in the righthand corner. WP was now in command at 21-7, however, the more experienced and battle-hardened Free Staters were determined not to make it an easy afternoon.

Hooker Louis van der Westhuizen proved just that when he crossed the whitewash following a powerful lineout mall. Pienaar added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 21-14. Outside centre David Brits was next to cross the home try-line under the sticks courtesy of a deft pass from the experienced Frans Steyn.

Pienaar’s conversion meant the teams were now level at 21-21 with still plenty of time to play.

A crucial scrum penalty in front of the opposing try-line gave the white jerseys another lineout mall opportunity, which Van der Westhuizen grabbed with both hands as he scored his second of the afternoon.

The Capetonians had a couple of opportunities to try and rescue the game, however, they were left frustrated by some basic errors.

Man of the match: Nama Xaba delivered another impressive performance for the Western Province. While Tristan L: Leyds also made a couple of lethal runs. For Cheetahs Frans Steyn deserves a mention, however, our nod goes to Cheetahs captain Ruan Pienaar. The No.9 was incredible, he dictated the match really well and kept his charges calm.

The scorers:

For Western Province
Tries: Leyds, Davids
Con: Swiel
Pens: Swiel 3

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Tshakweni, Van der Westhuizen 2, Brits
Cons: Pienaar 4

Yellow card: Alulutho Tshakweni (Cheetahs, 23 – repeated infringements)

Teams

Western Province: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Timothy Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Keke Morabe, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Connor Evans, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotze, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Simon Miller, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba.

Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 David Brits, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Aidon Davis, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 /Marné Coetzee, 19 Ockie Barnard, 20 Mihlali Mosi, 21 Rewan Kruger, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Robert Ebersohn.

Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Dylen November, Local
TMO: Egon Seconds

*Source: SA Rugby 
*Photo Credit: @WPRugby