Rugby
The Cheetahs narrowly edge out the Stormers─── 19:07 Sat, 06 Apr 2013
Morgan Piek
Bloemfontein – Burton Francis converts a stoppage time penalty to sink the Stormers 26-24 in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs have now extended their unbeaten run to five in a row as the Cheetahs edge out the Cape franchise in last minute thriller.
From the outset it was clear that defence was going to be a major factor in todays’ game. The Stormers started running the ball early and tested the Cheetahs defence. The Stormers were the first on the board through a long-range penalty attempt by Joe Pietersen.
The Cheetahs were the first to score a try when Piet van Zyl hacked the ball down field following a Stormers mistake just 10 metres short of the Cheetahs line. The ensuing chase resulted in Robert Ebersohn going over for a try after Adriaan Strauss drew the defence well and timed his offload perfectly.
Great defence by the home side denied Juan de Jongh from going over for the Stormers first try 13 minutes before the half-time break.
The Stormers were dealt a massive blow shortly before the break, when their loan player Jaco Taute was stretchered off with a badly injured knee. Shortly after Tautes’ departure, the men from Cape Town went over for their first try of the match when Juan de Jongh fell over the whitewash for the softest of tries. Only minutes later, De Jongh went over for his second try to take them into the half-time break leading 15-7.
The Cheetahs drew first blood in the second half when Burton Francis converted a penalty following a high tackle by Elton Jantjies.
Sarel Pretorius went flying over for the Cheetahs second try of the evening a mere minute after replacing Piet van Zyl. Not long after Pretorius’ try, the exciting scrumhalf came off injured and left the Cheetahs without a specialist halfback for the remainder of the game. Rayno Benjamin did expectionally well as makeshift scrumhalf and used his sevens experience to his advantage in the specialist position.
Pretorius is expected to be out of action anywhere between two-and-three weeks follwoing a grade one hamstring tear. Naka Drotské is left with bit of a quandary at scrumhalf. Does he call up the highly experienced Tewis du Bryan or Kevin Luiters from the Cheetahs Vodacom Cup squad or does he look to the Griqaus for a back-up?
The score changed hands a few times during the second half as both Joe Pietersen and Burton Francis had their kicking boots on. Francis swung it in the way of the Cheetahs with a stunning long-range dropgoal. Francis had another crack at a dropgoal 3 minutes from time, however, he pushed to the left and the Stormers remained in the lead.
With regulation play done and dusted, the home side demolished the visitors in a crucial final scrum of the game which eventually lead to a penalty within Burton Francis' range. Francis held his never infront of a very excited crowd to land the penalty and snatch the game at the death. Francis deservedly received the Man of the Match award for his stunning performance.
Scorers -
Toyota Cheetahs – Tries Robert Ebersohn, Sarel Pretorius Conv. Burton Francis 2 Pen. Burton Francis 4 Dropgoal Burton Francis.
Stormers – Tries Juan de Jongh 2 Pen. Joe Pietersen 4.
Bloemfontein – Burton Francis converts a stoppage time penalty to sink the Stormers 26-24 in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs have now extended their unbeaten run to five in a row as the Cheetahs edge out the Cape franchise in last minute thriller.
From the outset it was clear that defence was going to be a major factor in todays’ game. The Stormers started running the ball early and tested the Cheetahs defence. The Stormers were the first on the board through a long-range penalty attempt by Joe Pietersen.
The Cheetahs were the first to score a try when Piet van Zyl hacked the ball down field following a Stormers mistake just 10 metres short of the Cheetahs line. The ensuing chase resulted in Robert Ebersohn going over for a try after Adriaan Strauss drew the defence well and timed his offload perfectly.
Great defence by the home side denied Juan de Jongh from going over for the Stormers first try 13 minutes before the half-time break.
The Stormers were dealt a massive blow shortly before the break, when their loan player Jaco Taute was stretchered off with a badly injured knee. Shortly after Tautes’ departure, the men from Cape Town went over for their first try of the match when Juan de Jongh fell over the whitewash for the softest of tries. Only minutes later, De Jongh went over for his second try to take them into the half-time break leading 15-7.
The Cheetahs drew first blood in the second half when Burton Francis converted a penalty following a high tackle by Elton Jantjies.
Sarel Pretorius went flying over for the Cheetahs second try of the evening a mere minute after replacing Piet van Zyl. Not long after Pretorius’ try, the exciting scrumhalf came off injured and left the Cheetahs without a specialist halfback for the remainder of the game. Rayno Benjamin did expectionally well as makeshift scrumhalf and used his sevens experience to his advantage in the specialist position.
Pretorius is expected to be out of action anywhere between two-and-three weeks follwoing a grade one hamstring tear. Naka Drotské is left with bit of a quandary at scrumhalf. Does he call up the highly experienced Tewis du Bryan or Kevin Luiters from the Cheetahs Vodacom Cup squad or does he look to the Griqaus for a back-up?
The score changed hands a few times during the second half as both Joe Pietersen and Burton Francis had their kicking boots on. Francis swung it in the way of the Cheetahs with a stunning long-range dropgoal. Francis had another crack at a dropgoal 3 minutes from time, however, he pushed to the left and the Stormers remained in the lead.
With regulation play done and dusted, the home side demolished the visitors in a crucial final scrum of the game which eventually lead to a penalty within Burton Francis' range. Francis held his never infront of a very excited crowd to land the penalty and snatch the game at the death. Francis deservedly received the Man of the Match award for his stunning performance.
Scorers -
Toyota Cheetahs – Tries Robert Ebersohn, Sarel Pretorius Conv. Burton Francis 2 Pen. Burton Francis 4 Dropgoal Burton Francis.
Stormers – Tries Juan de Jongh 2 Pen. Joe Pietersen 4.
