Cape Town — A penalty try after a driving maul in the dying minutes secured a bonus point victory of 26-17 for the Cheetahs over Western Province in Cape Town on Saturday.
What was expected to be a free-flowing running game, something both teams are known for, ended up being a cagey affair as both teams played the territorial game with the boot to try and out wrestle each another.
But thanks to their rolling maul, and how they managed to stop that of the home side, the Cheetahs pipped Province at the death to go top of the Currie Cup log.
They played one game more than the Pumas who face the Griffons on Sunday to try and regain the top spot.
It was Province who scored first via a rolling maul but that try only came after 16 minutes as the two sides tussled to get the better of one another. The Cape side was in the driving seat in the first couple of minutes keeping the Cheetahs' defenders busy. The visitors managed to repel every WP attack and halted their mauls with Province failing to get any ascendency.
While both teams mauled strongly, it was the Cheetahs who had more success in converting those opportunities. The experience they have in their pack of forwards, compared to that of WP, proved to be the difference on the day.
The fact that WP managed to keep this strong Cheetahs outfit honest, does say something of the strides they are making in putting up a fight without quite a few senior players.
Although the backlines kept each other in check, both Angelo Davids, WP winger, and Reinhardt Fortuin, flyhalf of the Cheetahs, scored excellent tries.
Davids acrobatically dived over the try line after beating his defender to score Province's second try, which was started by a rolling maul, to extend his team's lead.
Fortuin on his turn sliced through the defence beautifully after the home, for a second kick-off, failed to exit properly. Those exit failures cost the team 12 points as they went into the break only 14-12 up.
The second half was about as cagey as the first forty as it took 18 minutes for the first points to be registered via the boot of WP flyhalf Kade Wolhuter. He was again excellent off the kicking tee.
But, these points proved to be the last for his side as the Cheetahs' defence kept them at bay.
Another rolling maul try, courtesy of replacement hooker Louis van der Westhuizen, saw the visitors take the lead for the first time in the game after about 65 minutes.
Province had chances to take the lead again but failed to convert opportunities when they were in striking range. A prime example was when inside centre Jean-Luc du Plessis missed an attempted penalty goal in line with the posts.
The penalty try, with Province a player in the sin-bin after repeatedly infringing on the Cheetahs' maul, sealed the game for the Bloemfontein side, sending them to the top of the Currie Cup log.
Points-scorers
Western Province 17 — Tries: Andre-Hugo Venter, Angelo Davids. Conversions: Wolhuter (2). Penalty: Wolhuter.
Cheetahs 26 — Tries: Penalty try, Gideon van der Merwe, Reinhardt Fortuin, Louis van der Westhuizen. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2).
IOL Sport