Energetic Cheetahs bolt past 'Canes
The Cheetahs showcased their impressive attacking skills to run in six tries on their way to a 47-38 victory over the Hurricanes in a sensational display of running rugby in Wellington on Saturday.
After last year’s 50-47 thriller in Bloemfontein most were expecting an open, running game, but no-one could have anticipated what was an extraordinary first-half, with eight tries served up to take the teams into the break on level peggings.
It was frenetic from the start, and almost all of the tries came from the same area of the field – the Hurricanes’ 22. The Cheetahs were playing their attractive quick passing game, and took the ball into opposition territory regularly from where either they would score or the Hurricanes would get their hands on it and race upfield on the counter.
Both teams showed plenty of attacking intent and that factor coupled with some indifferent defence saw the gaps open up all over the show, with turnovers also coming thick and fast there were plenty of opportunities on offer.
The high-paced, energetic rugby that both sides are renowned for was dished up right from the start as the Hurricanes took it through the phases until hooker Dan Coles hit the ball at pace to burst through a gap on the 22 and jink his way over for the first try.
The two flyhalves who both played at the Under-20 World Cup last year – Beauden Barrett and Johan Goosen – traded penalties after that, but it was not long before the teams were trying to run each other ragged once more.
The Cheetahs gave a taste of what was to come when scrumhalf Piet van Zyl made a break on the blindside to get his team into the 22 and from there the forwards took over with a series of drives bringing them to within striking distance until it was given to the backline and inside centre Andries Strauss was able to glide over for the visitors’ first try.
The visitors were looking dangerous, getting their hands out of the tackle and keeping the ball alive well, but the Hurricanes have been devastating on the counter-attack all season and when Coles ripped the ball off Phillip van der Walt just short of the Hurricanes tryline they got a chance to show what they can do.
The ball was spread wide until it got to on-form fullback Andre Taylor who hit a gap and made his way up to halfway where the ball was available quickly and sent out to Barrett who showed his class by spinning out of a few tackles before sprinting over for a breathtaking try.
Barrett was at the centre of the action once more soon aferwards when he pounced on a loose pass from Goosen in midfield and hacked it ahead just before he was shoved to ground by his opposite number.
Andries Strauss was back to cover in front of his tryline, but there was little support and he was forced to give away the penalty which Barrett knocked over without fuss.
The Cheetahs were determined to hit back, and they tried to put the home team under pressure in their own half, but the counter-attacking ability of the Hurricanes took the wind out of their sails with a stunning double-strike.
After Heinrich Brüssow had handed off Cory Jane in savage fashion to get his team on the front foot, the ball was turned over by Taylor who got the ball away to flank Faifili Levave, and he was able to stretch his legs in some space down the right touchline. Taylor was there in support and had too much pace as he flew over in the corner.
The Hurricanes were not done there and when the ball was turned over once again in their own half the ball was spun out to powerful left wing Julian Savea who managed to find scrumhalf TJ Perenara, and the young star showed good finishing skills to get over for the bonus-point try.
If the Cheetahs were stunned at being 32-11 down they showed no sign of it and promptly scored three tries in quick succession to sensationally level the scores at the half-time break.
First-up some slick hands in the Hurricanes 22 saw the visitors use their numbers out wide to put fullback Hennie Daniller over in the corner.
The next try was set up by Goosen who shot through a gap and turned on the pace, holding the cover defence off well until his support arrived. The ball was sent wide at pace again and this time it was Ryno Benjamin who crashed over the line.
The Cheetahs refused to take their foot off the gas, and they stormed into the Hurricanes 22 once more with plenty of hunger. On this occasion it would be some hard, grinding work from the forwards which got them over the whitewash as big Coenie Oosthuizen bashed his way over from close range. The conversion from Goosen levelled things up at 32-32 and both teams trotted into the changerooms with a bonus point already in the bag.
The two young flyhalves exchanged penalties after half-time in a rather sedate start to the second half, but that did not last long as the Cheetahs showed good patience and ball-control to pressurise the home side in their own 22.
The ball was knocked on just short of the line by George Earle, but the Cheetahs shoved the Hurricanes off their own scrum-ball and tighthead prop WP Nel was rightly rewarded when he crashed over for the first try after the break to give his team the lead at 40-38.
The game had understandably slowed down to a blur in the second half, and it was clear that the result would hinge on which team managed to show greater control and composure in the final stages.
The team from Bloemfontein displayed their versatility when a powerful driving maul got them close enough for Oosthuizen to power his way over for his second try, and although replays showed that he had lost control of the ball the try was given and the visitors were in the driver’s seat at 47-38 with ten minutes left to play.
The Cheetahs managed to play the rest of the match in Hurricanes territory, and the home team battled to break out, eventually falling short of securing the losing bonus point.
It was the Cheetahs’ first victory in New Zealand, and one that they richly deserved, especially considering their positive attitude, and it makes this overseas tour the most successful in the team’s Super Rugby history.
Man of the match: With tries raining in from all angles you might expect this award to go to a backline players, and there were plenty of breathtaking skills on display out wide on both sides, but the stand-out was Cheetahs prop Coenie Oosthuizen. The big loosehead was the only player to score two tries and put in a great all-round performance, performing well in the scrums, competing for the ball on the ground, carrying the ball up fiercely and even showing a bit of his fancy footwork for good measure.
The scorers:
For the Hurricanes:
Tries: Coles, Barrett, Taylor, Perenara
Cons: Barrett 3
Pens: Barrett 4
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Andries Strauss, Daniller, Benjamin, Oosthuizen 2, Nel
Cons: Goosen 4
Pens: Goosen 3
Teams:
Hurricanes: 15 Andre Taylor, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (captain), 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Brad Shields, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 James Broadhurst, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tristan Moran.
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Mark Reddish, 19 Jack Lam, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 22 Jayden Hayward.
Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Ryno Benjamin, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Justin Downey, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Philip Snyman.
Referee: Ian Smith (Australia)
