Cheetahs dominate Lusitanos, Pumas go down to Black Lion

WRAP: The Cheetahs opened their Toyota Challenge with a bang following a 54-24 victory against Portuguese outfit Lusitanos in Bloemfontein on Friday evening.

In the earlier clashes, Griquas defeated Romania 35-20 whilst Black Lion upset SA Cup champions the Pumas by 46-36.

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Lusitanos recorded the first points of the match through a penalty kick by Hugo Aubry in the fourth minute.

Jooste Nel responded for the hosts two minutes later with a show and go solo effort with Jaco van der Walt’s conversion to make it 7-3.

The Cheetahs went down to 14 players when Tielman Niewoudt was sent to the sinbin for making a tackle on the ground in the red zone.

Ramon Uys crossed for the Cheetahs’ second try after 16 minutes, which Van der Walt converted.

The Cheetahs lost Jaco van der Walt to the sinbin after being yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on in the 18th minute, which resulted in a penalty try for the visitors.

Uys barged over the line for a brace from a line-out maul in the 23rd minute.

Lusitanos also lost a player to the sinbin in the 27th minute when prop Abel da Cunha was given his marching orders for a dangerous tackle.

The Cheetahs cashed in immediately on the numerical advantage and scored their fourth try through a line-out maul with Louis van der Westhuizen crashing over the whitewash.

The hosts’ fifth try came moments later after attacking from deep, with Prince Nkabinde finishing the job under the posts.

Nel scored a double with another solo effort, beating four would-be defenders on the stroke of halftime.

Lusitanos scored the first try of the second half through winger Alfredo Almieda following sustained attacking pressure, with Amado adding the extras.

The Cheetahs responded through Rewan Kruger, who caught Lusitanos napping with a quickly taken tap penalty to score in the 50th minute.

The visitors got one back through Rodrigo Marques with Aubry adding the conversion, before the Cheetahs unleashed their whole bench at once in the 59th minute and responded with a try by Van der Walt.

Lock Duarte Nunes was sent to the sinbin in the 68th minute after receiving a warning from the referee earlier in the match for line-out infringements.

The visitors had one final attacking set in the Cheetahs’ red zone but kicked the ball into touch, bringing an end to proceedings.

Scorers:

For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Nel 2, Uys 2, Van der Westhuizen, Kruger, Van der Walt,  Nkabinde
Cons: Van der Walt 6, Blommetjies

For Lusitanos:
Tries: Penalty try does not require a conversion, Almeida, Marques
Cons: Aubry 2
Pen: Aubry

Yellow cards: Tielman Niewoudt (Cheetahs, 9 – Cynical foul: making a tackle whilst on the ground in the red zone), Jaco Van der Walt (Cheetahs, 18′ – Cynical foul: deliberate knock-on), Abel da Cunha (Lusitanos, 27′ – Dangerous play: high tackle), Duarte Nunes (Lusitanos, 68′ – Repeated infringements – offside at the maul)

Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Carel Jan Coetzee, 12 Jooste Nel, 11 Michael Annies, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Sisonke Vumazonke, 7 Neels Volschenk (captain), 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Chucky van der Westhuizen, 1 Tielman Niewoudt
Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Dux Manyama, 18 Tebogo Nkosi, 19 Curtly Thomas, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Gideon van der Merwe, 22 Marco Jansen van Vuren, Ethan Wentzel

Lusitanos: 15 Tomás Marques, 14 Rodrigo Marques, 13 Martim Faro, 12 Miguel Cristovão, 11 Alfredo Almeida, 10 Hugo Aubry, 9 Tomás Amado, 8 Vasco Baptista (captain), 7 André da Cunha, 6 Francisco Almeida, 5 Guilherme Costa, 4 Duarte Nunes, 3 Afonso Tapadinhas, 2 Santiago Lopes, 1 Abel da Cunha
Replacements: 16 Pedro Vicente, 17 Jason Cornelius, 18 Martim Souto, 19 Luís Avides, 20 Diego Pinheiro, 21 Pedro Lucas, 22 Tomás Batista, 23 Jordan Bacon

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Stephan Geldenhuys