Cheetahs see signs of improvement
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The Cheetahs seem to be slowly shaking off the early season jitters after overcoming a spirited Griquas team 34-27 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
It was the Griquas who were out of the blocks the quickest getting an early try that seemed to spark the home team into life as they steadily clawed their way to a healthy lead.
However, the men from Bloemfontein had to endure a late scare as the Griquas piled on two tries in the final 10 minutes of the game.
For coach Rory Duncan, it was a vastly improved performance – but he concedes there is still work to be done before they face the defending champions, the Sharks, in Durban next weekend.
"This was a much better performance than the one we delivered against the Pumas in Nelspruit last weekend," Duncan said.
"We still made lots of mistakes, but that is a sign of a new team.
"We were much better on attack and defense and created lots of opportunities to score from, although we did not capitalise on all of them."
Looking like a much more rounded outfit, the Cheetahs scored five tries against Griquas, two of which came via Springbok wing Raymond Rhule.
The late tries scored against the Cheetahs did give Duncan something to worry about as his team looked to take their foot off the gas in the dying moments of the game.
"Our defence during the last eight minutes of the game wasn't good enough," he went on.
"We wanted to keep them out but, in the end, they managed to score two tries for the bonus point.
"We need to make better use of the chances that are presented to us.
"We felt that we left 20 points out on the pitch that we didn't score."
The Cheetahs next face sterner opposition in the Sharks who recorded a victory against the Pumas in Durban on Friday.
SAPA
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