Cheetahs sneak late draw
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The Cheetahs, after dominating proceedings had to rely on a last-minute penalty to draw 30-30 against the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Cheetahs started like a house on fire with two Sarel Pretorius tries in the first 20 minutes of the game, this was coupled with a perfect kicking display from Willie du Plessis.
However, the Sharks steadily game back as Siyabonga Sithole and Andre Esterhuizen grabbed a try a piece before captain Mtembu bagged a late try to take the lead with minutes to spare.
It came down to a penalty after the whistle which saw Willie du Plessis maintain his 100 percent kicking record to draw the game for the Cheetahs.
The Sharks drew first blood after a helter skelter start on both sides, with fly half Lionel Cronje kicking a penalty in the eighth minute to give the Durban based side the early lead.
The Cheetahs quickly regrouped and put together useful phases of attack before seasoned scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius burst over from the side of the ruck for his five pointer.
Flyhalf Willie du Plessis converted, giving the hosts a slight lead of four points.
The Cheetahs started to look more composed than a Sharks outfit that has lost its last two games and Pretorius underlined that fact in the 22nd minute when he again burst through the Sharks defenders to run straight through and dot down underneath the uprights for a converted try.
The Sharks finally gave their supporters something to smile about when wing Siyabonga Sithole went over in the corner five minutes before half time.
Cronje converted a difficult kick and brought the visitors back within four points of the Cheetahs.
Their joy was shortlived as they were again put under pressure by the hosts and Du Plessis kicked the penalty after the Sharks could only stop them illegally.
Cronje had the final say of the first half as he kicked a penalty on the hooter to make the score 17-13 in favour of the hosts.
The Cheetahs started the second half where they left off and some good attacks followed.
Finally flank Tienie Burger scored in the 53rd minute and Du Plessis converted to give the hosts a lead of 11 points.
Cronje kicked a penalty to shorten the Cheetahs lead to eight points, before center Andre Esterhuizen scored and Cronje converted to make it a one point deficit.
Du Plessis replied with a penalty of his own to extend the lead to four points again.
The Sharks appeared to have the final say of the game when eighth man Tera Mthembu scored under the uprights and Cronje converted, but Du Plessis kept his cool after the hooter to sneak in the draw.
Man of the match: There were two stand-out players in the match, one from each side. Andre Esterhuizen was a huge threat to the Cheetahs defence with his powerful running, but it was Super Sarel Pretorius that deserves the award for his two tries and general electric play – Wille du Plessis also deserves a mention for his faultless kicking display.
Yellow Card: George Marich (Cheetahs, 23 mins – foul play, kicking the man on the ground)
Scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries Pretorius 2, Burger
Cons: Du Plessis 3
Pen: Du Plessis 3
For the Sharks
Tries: Sithole, Esterhuizen, Mtembu
Con: Cronje 3
Pens: Cronje 3
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Rayno Benjamin, 14 Maphutha Dolo, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 JP du Plessis, 10 Willie Du Plessis, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Pieter Labuschagne, 7 Neil Claassen, 6 Tienie Burger, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Henco Venter, 3 George Marich, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Abraham le Roux, 17 Rudolph Botha, 18 Werner Lourens, 19 Vincent Jobo, 20 Shaun Venter, 21 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 22 AJ Coertzen.
Sharks: 15 Tim Swiel, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Siyabonga Sithole, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Lubabalo Tera Mtembu (captain), 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Stephen Lewies, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Johan Meyer, 19 Khaya Majola, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Fred Zeilinga, 22 SP Marais.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Cwengile Jadezweni
TMO: JJ Wagner
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