Cheetahs pick up first win on tour
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The Cheetahs snapped their five-match losing streak with a much-needed 24-15 win over the embattled Western Force in their clash in Perth on Saturday.
The South African team trailed 8-10 at half-time, but scored the last 16 points of the match in slippery conditions – to overpower the home side and notch their third win in eight games this season.
The Force, who led 15-8 early in the second half, have now lost seven games in succession and are ebduring a terrible season.
Their only win was in the opening round – when they beat defending champions, the Waratahs.
Raymond Rhule and Heinrich Brüssow ran in tries for the Cheetahs, but the accurate boot of Joe Pietersen was the difference between the sides.
Pietersen scored 14 points and turned the match with a long-range drop-goal in the 50th minute.
It cut the margin to just one point and inspired his team.
The Force dominated possession in the first half, but failed to turn that into dominance on the scoreboard.
They looked in control when Chris Alcock drove over for their second try in the 43rd minute.
However, Luke Burton missed a relatively easy conversion that would have extended the margin beyond a converted try and it proved to be the Force's last chance to score.
The Heinrich Brüssow try and Pietersen's boot saw the Cheetahs end their Australasian tour on a winning note.
Man of the Match: Dane Haylett-Petty was busy for the Force early on, and Sias Ebersohn impressed with his tactical kicking. Kyle Godwin showed again why he is one of the best defenders in the competition so far, while Ben McCalman proved what an asset he is to Australian rugby. For the Cheetahs there can be no doubting that Coenie Oosthuizen is back to his best, while the back three of Willie le Roux, Raymond Rhule and Cornal Hendricks looked to live up to their attacking reputation. In the end however, it was the tenacity and bravery of Heinrich Brüssow that gets him the award.
Scorers:
For the Western Force:
Tries: Morahan, Alcock
Con: Burton
Pen: Burton
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Rhule, Brussow
Con: Pietersen
Pens: Pietersen 3
DG: Pietersen
Teams:
Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Luke Burton, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Wykes (captain), 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Pekahou Cowan.
Replacements: 16 Heath Tessmann, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Angus Cottrell, 20 Chris Alcock, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Zack Holmes, 23 Marcel Brache.
Cheetahs: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Joe Pietersen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Johannes Prinsloo, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Burrie Uys.
Replacements: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Nicolaas van Dyk, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Tienie Burger, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Willie du Plessis, 23 Ryno Benjamin.
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant referees: Will Houston, Graham Cooper
TMO: Ian Smith
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