Ragged Cheetahs secure semifinal
Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:27
Future vision: Cheetahs captain Juan Smith spots a semifinal in the distance
The Cheetahs did enough to secure their passage to the Currie Cup semifinals courtesy of a high-scoring 50-40 victory over the Boland Cavaliers in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The home side managed to score the five log points needed to advance in the competition, were their own worst enemies in large parts of the match, playing far too loosely as they naively expected the tries to come easily.
Their defence also wasn't convincing, and coach Naka Drotské will have plenty to work on before their semifinal against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria next week.
The defending Cup champions fell back into bad old habits of playing without establishing proper structures from the set pieces, and again it resulted in sometimes mindless passing of the ball, which culminated in turnovers and gifting points to the opposition.
In a match that provided 13 tries, it is difficult to single out players for their brilliance, but if the Cheetahs can take one thing out of this game, it is that they should look after flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter.
For the Boland, there was a star turn from captain Piet van Zyl, who scored a fantastic hat-trick of tries to grab Man of the Match honours.
Van Zyl started off proceedings against the odds with a splendid try for Boland in the opening minutes to open the scoring.
That got the Cheetahs going somewhat, and they replied through skipper Juan Smith, who went over for the first of two tries in the 14th minute.
The play was still very broken and loose, but the Cheetahs did manage a second try through flank Heinrich Brüssow five minutes later, after some good phase play set up the opportunity.
The Cavaliers showed that they didn't just travel to Bloemfontein for the nightlife, as they jumped right back into the thick of things with a try through flank Josh Strauss.
A tight and evenly matched period followed, with only scrumhalf Tewis de Bruyn able to penetrate beyond the Boland try-line in the second quarter to extend the Cheetahs lead.
The Cheetahs seemed to finally settle into a dominant rhythm, and the pressure started to tell on the Boland, who resorted to professional fouls to prevent the hosts from gaining further advantage.
Those transgressions were severely dealt with by referee Marius Jonker, who yellow-carded both David Hendricks and flank Angelo Brinkhuys in quick succession.
Boland went into the break with only 13 men on the field, and trailing 14-21.
The Cheetahs took advantage of their numerical advantage in the second half, scoring through Springbok flyer Jongi Nokwe after Brüssow stole another turnover.
That secured the bonus point for the Cheetahs and they were apparently cruising into the semifinals, when first Smith and then flank Nico Breedt scored to give the Cheetahs a 42-14 lead.
But the home side then made the mistake of relaxing mentally, and the Boland nearly made them pay a huge price for that.
The Cavaliers hit back hard twice through skipper Van Zyl, before the Cheetahs responded through flank Schalk van der Merwe.
Once again the Bolanders answered when Elgar Watts intercepted to score unopposed.
Suddenly the Cheetahs were taking caution to protect their win, taking the option of a penalty kick at goal to keep the Boland two scores away from taking the lead.
That tactic was a huge compliment to the way the Boland were playing, and it was justified when wing Deon Scholtz ran in for the Boland's sixth try.
But the Cheetahs had done enough to secure their win, and their semifinal place. Boland's performance was not in vain either, as the bonus point took them off the bottom of the log, saving them from having to play a relegation play-off match.
That dubious honour now falls to the Falcons.
Scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Smith 2, Brüssow, De Bruyn, Nokwe, Breedt, Van der Merwe
Cons: Potgieter 6
Pens: Potgieter
For Boland:
Tries: Van Zyl 3, Strauss, Watts, Scholtz
Cons: Peach 4, Watts
Yellow cards: David Hendricks (Boland, 35 - Professional foul); Angelo Brinkhuys (Boland, 40 - Repeated infringements)
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith (captain), 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 David de Villiers, 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 PW van Vuuren, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Nico Breedt, 19 Schalk van der Merwe, 20 Jandré Blom, 21 Hennie Daniller, 22 Kabamba
Floors.
Boland Cavaliers: 15 Justin Peach, 14 Deon Scholtz, 13 Piet van Zyl (captain), 12 Dewey Swartbooi, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 David Hendricks, 7 Josh Strauss, 6 Zolani Mofu, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Cecil Kemp, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Pieter Wium, 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Jean Botha, 18 Johan Peacock, 19 Angelo Brinkhuys, 20 Neil Papier, 21 Hein Myburgh, 22 Lionel Cornelius.
Referee: Marius Jonker
Touch judges: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Peet Badenhorst
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
