Cheetahs' late surge thumps Benetton
PRO14 MATCH REPORT: Daniel Maartens grabbed two second half tries as Cheetahs got their second win of the season with a 31-25 victory over Benetton Rugby.
The back-and-forth match saw the lead change hands six times before the South African side snatched it at the end.
Marco Zanon and Dewaldt Duvenage had first half scores for Benetton to help them lead at the break, with Nico Lee getting Cheetahs only try in opening period.
Shaun Venter added to the two tries from Maartens in the second half for the South African side as they got a bonus point win. Flyhalf Ian McKinley registered the Italian sides’ only second half try.
Powerful play from the Benetton pack saw them rumble up to the Cheetah’s line inside the first three minutes, the ball went through the phases before Zanon beat two men from five metres out and touched it down with an extended arm.
Cheetahs had a response almost instantly thanks to a try from Lee, the inside centre ran a beautiful diagonal line and was fed by scrumhalf Venter after a line-out to cruise in under the posts, with Tian Schoeman adding the extras.
Flyhalf McKinley added three points for the Italian side after 14 minutes to nudge them back in front and Benetton extended their lead just before the half hour mark.
The forwards kept the ball alive in the tackle, with offloads by Marco Barbini and Federico Ruzza releasing scrumhalf Duvenage to touch down.
Benhard Janse van Rensburg looked to have reduced the gap between the sides when he touched down in the corner for Cheetahs but his side was ruled to have passed the ball forward.
The home side had dominated in the scrum at the set piece but the introduction of Marco Riccioni at tighthead reversed their fortunes before the break. He came on for Giuseppe di Stefano and made an instant impact, winning a penalty at the set-piece for his side.
The home side continued to carry powerfully early in the second half.
Cheetahs offloaded as they went through the 22, before Venter’s show and go gave him enough room to touch down, with Schoeman adding the extras to make it 15-14.
A McKinley penalty extended the Italian side’s lead but it didn’t last long with the South African side went back in front through Maartens.
He rolled off the back of a maul from less from than a metre out after some powerful approach play after a driven line-out making it 21-18 to the hosts.
The game continued to go back-and-forth and this time it was McKinley who scored a try and then kicked the conversion to make it 25-21.
But more powerful forward play paid off for Cheetahs, as another rolling maul ended with Maartens pouncing off the back to score.
Replacement Louis Fouche added a further two points with the boot to take the South African side ahead 28-25, before he added a second penalty just before the end to secure the match.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: Lee, Venter, Maartens 2
Cons: Schoeman 3, Fouche
Pen: Fouche
For Benetton:
Tries: Zanon, Duvenage, McKinley
Cons: McKinley 2
Pens: McKinley 2
Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Rhyno Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Shaun Venter (c), 8 Daniel Maartens, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 Sinthu Manjezi, 20 Abongile Nonkontwana, 21 Rudi Paige, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 William Small-Smith
Benetton: 15 Angelo Esposito, 14 Marco Zanon, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Ignacio Brex, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Ian McKinley, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marco Barbini (c), 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Giuseppe Di Stefano, 2 Tomas Baravalle, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Derrick Appiah, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Alberto Sgarbi
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse (South Africa), Jaco Kotze (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
@Pro14official
