The defending champions ran in six tries as opposed to the two by the visitors from Durban.

The Springbok winger, Raymond Rhule, crossed the whitewash for the Cheetahs bonus point try, in what was also his 50th Currie Cup match.

Uzair Cassiem, Francois Venter, Reinach Venter, William Small-Smith and Zee Mkhabela all scored for the Cheetahs as well, while S’bura Sithole and Bandisa Ndlovu dotted down for the Sharks.

Following the match the coach Rory Duncan told OFM Sport that they did leave points on the park, but he is happy with the start.

“Yes, absolutely, I certainly feel that we left a couple of points out there on the park.

“It’s the first game of the season and I think it’s a platform for us to build on.

“What we’re going to do is take the positives out of it, as you mentioned there are a couple of this to work on and we will address it.

“It’s a starting point for the campaign, and we're happy to be in the position we’re in for a start.”

The Cheetahs are unbeaten in the Currie Cup since 17 October 2015, when they lost 43-33 to the Golden Lions at Ellis Park in the semi-finals.

The Cheetahs has a fairly lengthy turn around before their next game, which will be next week Sunday, against Western Province in Bloemfontein.

Scorers:

FS Cheetahs: Tries – Uzair Cassiem, Francois Venter, Reinach Venter, Raymond Rhule, William Small-Smith, Zee Mkhabela Conv. – Niel Marais 3, Clayton Blommetjies 1 Pen. – Marais 3

Sharks: Tries - S’bura Sithole, Bandisa Ndlovu Conv. - Benhard Janse van Rensburg.

Morgan Piek/OFM Sport