Cheetahs stay in the hunt
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:55
The Free State Cheetahs kept alive their play-off hopes with an impressive 20-16 win over a fast-finishing Golden Lions team in their Currie Cup Round Nine match in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
It was a win that cemented the Cheetahs' fifth place on the standings, within striking distance of the top four, and left the Lions with much work to do if they hope to contest the semifinals.
The Cheetahs will celebrate the win, but they will also know that they left plenty of points on the park and should never have allowed the Lions back into the game, after having held a 20-6 lead going into the final quarter.
And the Lions will wonder why they, once again, allowed the opposition to race clear and then had to launch a late comeback. In the end, they just fell short and had to be content with a losing bonus-point.
The first half was marked by plenty of frenetic energy from both sides, but a combination of fierce defence and poor execution saw neither team able to score a try - until Cheetahs prop WP Nel burrowed his way over from a ruck in the 40th minute.
Till that stage the scoring was limited to penalties by Jacques-Louis Potgieter (in the sixth and 25th minutes) and Herkie Kruger (14th and 29th minutes).
The Cheetahs had dominated possession and territory in that first half and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the home team found a way through the hard-working Lions' defensive line.
Even when they were a man down, with flank Franco van der Merwe sin-binned for a professional foul when playing the ball from an offside position in the 10th minute, the Lions managed to hold out. In fact they scored one of their penalties while a man down.
But the try eventually came.
And it was just reward for the young prop when he found his way to the line after a series of rushes from his fellow forwards close to the Lions' line.
Potgieter's conversion made in 13-6 in favour of the Cheetahs at the break.
That lead moved into double figures when flank Frans Viljoen forced his way over from close range in the 47th minute. But it was fullback Hennie Daniller that set up the opportunity with a brilliant little chip-and-collect near halfway - as he ripped the Lions defence apart and the support play took the ball to within a metre of the line.
From there Viljoen collected a neat little pop-pass and barged over. Potgieter's conversion made it 20-6 - leaving the Lions a mountain to climb.
The Lions had a lucky escape minutes later, when flying Cheetahs wing Jongi Nokwe hacked the ball ahead three times, but knocked it on in the process of trying to [pick it up and score. It must be added, though, that he was under pressure from and equally pacy Dusty Noble.
And the game had its comical moments, none more so than when referee Mark Lawrence was caught up in a ruck-type-thing and knocked to the ground - even admitting afterwards that he probably "gouged" some player and the process of trying to untangle himself to blow his whistle.
Kruger finally managed to get a second-half score for the Lions, a penalty from 40 metres out, as the game approached the final quarter.
That was followed by a brilliant try from Lions flank Derick Minnie - a brilliant move that initially went awry, but the follow up work saw the Lions' support collected a loose ball and carry it forward, with Minnie rounding off the move.
The try was set up by flyhalf Herkie Kruger, who kicked downfield and followed his own kick to force the Cheetahs scrumhalf, Jean-Pierre Joubert, into touch. It is from that line-out that the Lions set up the move that resulted in the try. Kruger added the conversion and at 16-20 the Lions had climbed to near the top of that mountain the Cheetahs had left them.
It became even more frenetic, as both teams searched for the score that could secure the win.
But it appeared that cramp was winning the battle, as players went down with almost monotonous regularity as the game entered the final 10 minutes.
Try as they might, the Lions just couldn't find the legs or opening to get the winning score, as the Cheetahs held on for a crucial win.
Man of the match: For the Lions you will look at scrumhalf Jano Vermaak, as well as No.8 and stand-in captain Willem Alberts. In fact they are always good value. Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss was his usual bustling self, while the hard work of loose forwards Ashley Johnson, Frans Viljoen and Johan Wessels should also be applauded. But our award goes to Cheetahs fullback Hennie Daniller - not just for his impressive fullback play, but the manner in which he counter-attacked, including when he set up what ultimately turned out to be the match-winning score.
The scorers:
For the Free State Cheetahs:
Tries:
Nel, Viljoen
Cons: Potgieter 2
Pens: Potgieter 2
For the Golden Lions:
Try: Minnie
Con: Kruger
Pens: Kruger 3
Yellow card: Franco van der Merwe (Lions, 10 - professional foul, playing from an offside position)
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 JW Jonker, 13 Phillip Snyman, 12 Corné Uys, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 Jean-Pierre Joubert, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Johan Wessels, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Izak van der Westhuizen, 19 Chris Dry, 20 Tertius Carse, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Lionel Mapoe.
Golden Lions: 15 Earl Lewis; 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Alwyn Hollenbach, 12 Pieter
Engelbrecht, 11 Johan Jackson; 10 Herkie Kruger, 9 Jano Vermaak; 8 Willem Alberts (captain), 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Nico Luus, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Derek Harwood, 17 Kevin Buys, 18 Wouter Moore, 19 Todd Clever, 20 Johan Van Deventer, 21 Doppies La Grange, 22 Ruan Boshoff.
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Mandla Dakuse
TMO: Gerrie Coetzee
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