Fouché stars as Pumas upset Cheetahs
MATCH REPORT: Pumas flyhalf Eddie Fouché scored all of his team’s points in a 22-15 win over the Cheetahs in Nelspruit on Friday.
The calm and collected Fouche was the star of the show in the humid Mpumalanga conditions. He scored the game’s only try and he also contributed four penalties and a conversion in the 80 minutes.
The first half was competitive as the teams tried hard to make their presence felt, but with both sides holding their own on defence neither team was able to breakthrough.
Instead, the Pumas took advantage of the Cheetahs ill-discipline to kick four penalty goals, while the visitors’ only points in the first half were compliments of a penalty goal by scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar and a stunning long-range drop goal by fullback Rhyno Smith.
The visitors didn’t do themselves any favours as they conceded a handful of penalties, while they were also reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes in the third quarter as Chris Smit (centre) was sent to the sin-bin for infringing at a breakdown from an illegal position.
Pienaar opened the scoring for the Cheetahs in the sixth minute, and Fouche cancelled this out in the 22nd minute with his first penalty goal.
Smith then slotted over his drop goal, and minutes later the scores were level as Fouche added his second penalty goal, and subsequently added two more before the teams ran into the change room, which earned the Mpumalanga outfit a 12-6 half-time lead.
The Free Staters came out fighting in the second half and the rewards followed with Pienaar levelling the scores with two more penalty goals 13 minutes into the second half.
Experienced Springbok centre Frans Steyn landed a long-range penalty goal in the 67th minute to hand his team the lead, but this was short-lived as Fouche forced his way over the chalk in the 70th minute, and he added the extra two points from the conversion for a 19-15 lead with minutes left to play.
The star performer stretched the hosts’ lead with yet another penalty goal in the 75th minute to nudge them seven points ahead with less than five minutes to play, and they managed to hold onto the lead to seal the victory.
Man of the match: The star of the show was definitely Eddie Fouché, who scored all of his team’s points in a hard-fought win.
The scorers:
For Pumas:
Try: Fouché
Con: Fouché
Pens: Fouché 5
For Cheetahs:
Pens: Pienaar 3, Steyn
DG: Smith
Yellow cards: Chris Smit (Cheetahs, 28 – cynical play); Morgan Naudé (Pumas, 50 – foul play)
Teams
Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Erich Cronjé, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Eddie Fouché, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Francois Kleinhans, 7 Willie Engelbrecht, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Pieter Janse van Vuren (captain), 4 Darien Landsberg, 3 Marné Coetzee, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Morgan Naudé.
Replacements: 16 Abraham le Roux, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Ruan Kramer, 19 Kwanda Dimaza, 20 Ginter Smuts, 21 Wayne van der Bank, 22 Sebastian de Klerk, 23 Phumzile Maqondwana.
Cheetahs: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 Chris Smit, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Craig Barry, 10 Reinhardt Fortuin, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jacques Potgieter, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Chris Massyn, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Cameron Dawson.
Replacements: 16 Janus Venter, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Rosko Specman.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadeweni & Paul Mente
TMO: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Additional source and photo: SA Rugby
