Kings push Cheetahs all the way
The home side were in cruise mode after racking up four converted tries and two penalties to take a 34-13 lead after 56 minutes but then the Kings came back into the match as their replacements took centre stage.
The Kings began the game on the front foot and took the game to the Cheetahs but despite the dominance, the home side managed to keep the Eastern Cape franchise at bay in the opening seven minutes.
With virtually their first attack of the match, the Cheetahs raced up field and came within metres of scoring through Torsten van Jaarsveld. However, he received a forward pass from Clayton Blommetjies who broke through a half-gap, as the Kings were left off the hook.
The Kings were back on the attack from that point and were awarded a 13th minute penalty as the Cheetahs infringed close to their 22. Elgar Watts struck the penalty well to hand the visitors the 3-0 lead.
The Cheetahs got their hands on the ball and went on the attack. Sergeal Petersen made a good run, only to be brought down by having his hair pulled. The Cheetahs were handed a penalty for that infringement and Fred Zeilinga slotted the kick to level matters after 19 minutes.
It was all the Cheetahs from that point as they bagged two tries within five minutes of each other. First, Raymond Rhule crossed in the 23rd minute and then Uzair Cassiem got his name on the score sheet with a 28th minute score. Zeilinga slotted both conversions to hand the home side a 17-6 lead.
Neither side were able to add any further points as they headed into the shed for the half-time interval.
The home side came out firing after the break as Michael van der Spuy scored his side third try in the 46th minute. Zeilinga had an easy conversion as the Cheetahs stretched their lead to 24-6. The lead was stretched by a further three points when Zeilinga slotted his second penalty, two minutes later.
The Kings were not going to let the result get away from them and hit straight back with a try of their own when JP du Plessis beat two defenders to canter over for the score. Watts added the extras to reduce the deficit to 14 points after 51 minutes.
But the Cheetahs hit back four minutes later when a strong counter-ruck saw them turn possession over close to the half-way line. It was quickly sent to Sergeal Petersen on the right wing and the speedster raced away to score in the corner.
Zeilinga's conversion ensured a 34-13 lead for the home side after 56 minutes of action.
The match went into a bit of a lull for a few minutes but then the Cheetahs got going again and took the game to the Kings. However, some ill-discipline crept into the Cheetahs' game and with Kings replacement scrumhalf Ntando Kebe pushing the tempo, the visitors got themselves onto the board once again.
Sustained pressure on the Cheetahs' try line saw the Kings fire the ball wide to Lukhanyo Am, who made no mistake in getting the score in the corner. Fouche added the tough conversion to get the Kings 14 points behind the Cheetahs with 10 minutes remaining in the contest.
The Kings had their tails up in the final minutes and were camping inside the Cheetahs' 22. Paul Schoeman was sent to the sin bin with three minutes remaining after being caught off his feet at the breakdown.
The visitors failed to take full advantage as the match fizzled out.
Man of the match: Edgar Marutlulle was once again at his best while captain Shane Gates did all the hard work on defence. Ntando Kebe showed plenty of energy when he got onto the field as he drove the Kings forward in the latter stages of the match. Uzair Cassiem did the hard yards up front for the home side while captain Francois Venter was his industrious self. However, there was only one person who could not be stopped on the night and that was Lodewyk de Jager.
Scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Rhule, Cassiem, van der Spuy, Petersen
Cons: Zeilinga 4
Pens: Zeilinga 2
For Southern Kings:
Tries: du Plessis, Am
Cons: Watts, Fouche
Pens: Watts 2
Yellow card: Paul Schoeman (Cheetahs, repeated infringements – off feet at the breakdown, 77)
Teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Nicolaas van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Retshegofaditswe Nche, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Henco Venter, 20 Carl Wegner, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Nico Lee.
Southern Kings: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Lukhanyo Am, 13 Phillipus du Plessis, 12 Shane Gates (captain), 11 Luzuko Vulindlu, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 James Hall, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Juan-Pierre Jonck, 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Liam Hendricks.
Replacements: 16 Martin Ferreira, 17 Louis Albertse, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Cornell Hess, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Ntando Kebe, 22 Louis Fouche, 23 Leighton Eksteen.
Referee: Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
