Stade Français flair leaves Cheetahs with no answers
MATCH REPORT: French giants Stade Francais delivered a convincing victory over the Cheetahs in Amsterdam on Saturday as they ran in six tries for a 45-22 win in Round Two of the Challenge Cup.
The visitors scored in the sixth minute as Motassi Dibongue crashed over after they quickly advanced into the Cheetahs’ red zone.
The Cheetahs responded with a three-pointer a few minutes later to open their scoring.
The second try of the game again went to the visitors and came from a scrum in the Cheetahs’ 22. A little dink overhead was caught by Joe Marchant, who just had to dot down.
Stade Francais were in a commanding position after 30 minutes of play, leading by 14-3.
The Cheetahs got their first try after a good lineout, and then the drive saw their pack of forwards test the opposition for the first time.
Louis van der Westhuizen got over, and Jasper managed to convert after nicking the side of the upright.
Trailing by four points, the home side looked in a much better position as they headed to halftime.
Five minutes later, they took the lead after some innovative play that started with a driving maul and ended with Munier Hartzenberg dancing his way through the opposition to grab their second try.
The Cheetahs closed out the first 40 with a three point lead and was showing increased confidence while dominating the possession in the last quarter of the first half.
The visitors wasted no time and grabbed their third try a mere two minutes into the second half as the Cheetahs failed to deal with some scrappy ball. Iakopo Mapu was on hand to pick it up and score.
A mere minute later they did so again and bagged their fourth bonus-point try, stretching their lead 28-17.
A successful penalty kick just rubbed more salt into the Cheetahs’ wounds, making it a 14-point lead.
A host of unforced errors hampered any efforts the Cheetahs could muster, offering the visitors ample opportunity to launch attack, resulting in their fifth try as the clock struck on the hour.
The conversion took Stade Francais to a commanding 38-17 lead.
The Cheetahs certainly lost their composure in the last quarter of the game, struggling to be clinical and accurate.
The Cheetahs’ chances of collecting a first victory in the Challenge Cup disappeared in a cloud of the boerie roll smoke hanging over the field.
Typical French flair saw another try by the French before the Cheetahs finally scored their third of the day, but it was merely a consolation as the score was too far to chase with under a minute left.
Scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: Van der Westhuizen, Hartzenberg, Nel
Cons: Jasper 2
Pens: Jasper
For Stade Francais:
Tries: Dibongue 2, Marchant, Mapu, Nene, Scelzo
Cons: Foursans 6
Pens: Foursans
Teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Michael Annies, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 De-an Ackermann, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 George Lourens, 9 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 8 Gideon van der Merwe, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Juan Venter, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen (captain), Cameron Dawson
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17. Matome Manyama, 18. Frankie Dos Reis, 19.Curtley Thomas, 20. Sisonke Vumazonke, 21. Neels Volschenk, 22. Jandré Nel, 23. Clayton Blommetjies
Stade Francais: 15 Mathis Ibo, 14 Charles Laloi, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jeremy Ward (captain), 11 Andy Timo, 10. Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 9 Thibaut Motassi, 8 Iakopo Mapu, 7 Ryan Chapuis, 6 Juan-Martin Scelzo, 5 Jacques Botha, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Alvaro Garcia Albo, 1 Jack Iscaro
Replacements: 16 Lucas Peyresblanques, 17 Moses Alo-Emile, 18 Braxton Asi, 19 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 20.Setareki Turagacoke, 21 Noah Nene, 22 Martin Blum, 23 Joe Jonas
Referee: Sara Cox (England)
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England) & Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)
