Brumbies win scrappy affair against Cheetahs

The game was a stop-start affair with a number of handling errors and penalties, especially in the second half when the rain came down on the Free State Stadium.

The Brumbies thought they scored inside the first 30 seconds after scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli pounced on Niel Marais' failure to gather a ball from a kick in his own 22 to go over for the try. However, after a TMO review, there was a forward pass earlier in the play and the try was not given. 

The visitors did get their first try three minutes later when David Pocock intercepted a Cheetahs' pass to sprint inside the home side's 22. The ball went through a number of hands before Ita Vaea dived over for the score with Christian Lealiifano converting.

There was no reprieve for the Cheetahs after that try as the Brumbies dominated possession and territory. After sustained pressure in the Cheetahs' 22, Lealiifano extended the visitors lead with a penalty kick to make it 10-0 after 12 minutes.

The home side had their opportunities to get points on the board with two kickable penalties, but on both occasions they decided to go for the line-out in search of a try, which did not materialise.

After making another foray into the Brumbies half on the 20-minute mark, the Cheetahs were awarded another penalty and they decide to go for the three points with Niel Marais converting.

The Cheetahs were starting to look much better with ball in hand as the game went on, which also caused the Brumbies to give away more penalties. 

After the Brumbies went off their feet at a breakdown in their own 22 in the 24th minute, the Cheetahs got another penalty. Captain Francois Venter decided to take a quick tap and he was rewarded for his quick thinking after the ball went through a few hands until flank Uzair Cassiem crashed over for the try.

Marais could not convert, but the Cheetahs were just two points adrift after 25 minutes. 

The Cheetahs then received an untimely blow seven minutes before half-time when Retshegofaditswe Nche was yellow carded for stifling a Brumbies' attack from an offside position.

The Brumbies opted for a scrum from the penalty and made good use of their extra man when the ball went wide after a few phases with fullback Aiden Toua easing over for his team's try.

Lealiifano could not add the extras, but the Brumbies had a seven-point lead going into the last five minutes of half.

The home side were then given a boost just before half-time when Brumbies lock Sam Carter was yellow carded for joining a maul from the side in the Brumbies' 22.

The Cheetahs tried to get another try in the last few seconds of the half, but after sustained pressure deep inside the Brumbies' 22 they lost the ball forward. The Brumbies led 15-8 at the break.

Marais had an opportunity to reduce the deficit early in the second half with a penalty, but he did not have the direction from almost 50 metres out.

Instead it was the Brumbies who extended their lead when Lealiifano converted a penalty two minutes later.

After some scrappy play, the game and the crowd burst into life in the 50th minute when wing Sergeal Petersen nearly got in for a try. The ball was kicked downfield from deep inside the Cheetahs half with Petersen and Matt Toomua racing towards the Brumbies' tryline. However, the bounce of the ball evaded both players with the ball eventually going dead. 

It was the Brumbies who would eventually get the first try of the second half when prop Ben Alexander dived over the Cheetahs tryline after a number of phases in the Cheetahs' 22. Toomua converted and the visitors found themselves 17 points in front.

The game turned into a dour for the next 25 minutes with both teams, especially the Cheetahs, struggling to hang onto the ball on attack.

With five minutes to go, there was some hope of a comeback for the home side when Petersen sprinted in for try after a great break by fullback Clayton Blommetjies.

Marais converted to reduce the Brumbies' lead to ten points with five minutes remaining. 

However, as time ran out the home side had to make do with a losing bonus point after a Marais penalty just before full-time. The Brumbies walked away with the four points to maintain their position on top of the Australian Conference.

Man of the Match: The award goes to David Pocock for winning a number of turnovers at the breakdown and putting his body on the line in open play.

The scorers:

For Cheetahs:

Tries: Cassiem, Petersen

Con: Marias

Pens: Marais 2

For Brumbies:

Tries: Vaea, Toua, Alexander

Cons: Lealiifano, Toomua

Pens: Lealiifano 2

Yellow cards: Retshegofaditswe Nche (Cheetahs, 34 – offside, lazy running); Sam Carter (Brumbies, 39 – repeated infringements, joining the maul from the side)

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Retshegofaditswe Nche.

Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Nicolaas van Dyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga.

Brumbies: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Robbie Coleman, 10 Christian Lealiifano (captain), 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio.

Replacements: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Tom Staniforth. 20 Jordan Smiler, 21 Michael Dowsett, 22 James Dargaville, 23 Nigel Ah Wong.

Referee: Glen Jackson

Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, AJ Jacobs

TMO: Willie Vos