Second half turnaround saw Cardiff past Cheetahs

MATCH REPORT: Three second-half tries helped Cardiff to a bonus-point win over the Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup on Saturday evening.

Cardiff was resilient, then clinical, and then smart to secure the all-important bonus point win.

The Cheetahs started out well as they worked their way up towards Cardiff’s 22 but lost the ball in the opening minutes of the game and won a penalty.

Opting to kick for touch, they had a line-out and then a scrum metres from the try line but the ball came out on Cardiff’s side, surviving the early onslaught from the visitors.

The Cheetahs kept up the pace of their attack and this almost saw them score but captain Victor Sekekete couldn’t hold onto the ball.

The visitors, using their rush defence, played in the faces of Cardiff but the hosts got their first taste of attack, resulting in Welsh international Josh Adams scoring.

They started in their own 22, Tom Bowen had a great run and Adams used his pace to finish it off.

Unfortunately, the Cheetahs lost Ali Mgijima, Oupa Mohoje, and Gideon van der Merwe early in the first half to injuries.

This did not deter the Cheetahs though as they kept up the attack, but Cardiff’s defence was rock solid.

The Cheetahs were going coast to coast, upping the pace of the game, but they were not gaining field ascendancy.

Eventually, the visitors got over the line, but Friedl Olivier was held up as he went over and Cardiff heaved another sigh of relief as their defence stood firm.

It was the soft skills of the Cheetahs under pressure that cost them as they struggled to protect the ball enough.

Despite the high number of their 22 entries, they couldn’t convert that into points.

Finally, eight minutes before half-time, silky hands saw Ruben de Haas score after a great little run by Munier Hartzenbugh.

Ethan Wentzel converted and the Cheetahs took the lead 7-5.

Five minutes before half-time Wentzel extended the Cheetahs’ lead with another three points with a successful penalty kick.

A ferocious onslaught by Cardiff was thwarted by the visitors and they headed into the break with the Cheetahs leading 10-5.

Cardiff scored their second try through pocket rocket Tom Bowen after a great run by Liam Belcher. The conversion by Callum Sheedy moved his side into the lead again by 12-10.

The momentum shifted to the home side as they were once again on the attack with a line-out on the 22 m line.

But the Cheetahs got the upper hand in the ensuing scrum. Tempers flared and referee Eoghan Cross had to calm things down.

Cardiff had a three-on-one on the outside and Adams, with his pace, did just enough to secure five more points for his side. Sheedy converted and the home side extended their lead to 19-10 with just over 20 minutes left.

A double whammy hit the Cheetahs as a penalty try was awarded while Rob Hunt got his marching orders for illegally trying to stop a rolling maul.

Cardiff was leading 26-10 ten minutes before full-time and the Cheetahs had a lot of work to do as they trailed by four tries to one.

The game fizzled out to a stop-start affair as the clock was winding down and in the end the mistakes by the visitors prevented them from fighting back.

Scorers:

For Cardiff:
Tries: Adams 2, Bowen, penalty try
Cons: Sheedy 2

For Cheetahs:
Tries: De Haas
Cons: Wentzel
Pens: Wentzel

Teams:

Cardiff: 15. Cam Winnett, 14. Josh Adams, 13. Rey Lee-Lo, 12. Ben Thomas, 11. Tom Bowen, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Aled Davies, 8. Taulupe Faletau, 7. Dan Thomas, 6. James Botham, 5. Teddy Williams, 4. Josh McNally, 3. Will Davies-King, 2. Liam Belcher (captain), 1. Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16. Dafydd Hughes, 17. Danny Southworth, 18. Keiron Assiratti, 19. Seb Davies, 20. Alex Mann, 21. Alun Lawrence, 22. Johan Mulder, 23. Rory Jennings

Cheetahs: 15. Michael Annies, 14. Munier Hartzenberg, 13. CJ Coetzee, 12. Ali Mgijima, 11. Cohen Jasper, 10. Ethan Wentzel, 9. Ruben de Haas, 8. Jeandre Rudolph, 7. Oupa Mohoje, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete (captain), 4. Carl Wegner, 3. Aranos Coetzee, 2. Louis van der Westhuizen, 1. Schalk Ferreira
Replacements: 16. Vernon Paulo, 17. Hencus van Wyk, 18. Rob Hunt, 19. Pierre-Raymond Uys, 20. Friedle Olivier, 21. Daniel Maartens, 22. Rewan Kruger, 23. George Lourens

Referee: Eoghan Cross
Assistant referees: Andrew Cole, Sam Holt
TMO: Leo Colgan