The victory broke the Cheetahs three-match losing streak in the competition as it was also the first for the team under the guidance of Fourie.

The Cheetahs had to hold for dear life in the last five minutes of the match for the victory and this despite being penalised heavily once again.

Fourie told OFM Sport that the calls were bizarre at times however he is delighted with the team character.

“It was important for us to win and get that monkey off of our backs after we came close on two occasions during that previous tour where we let ourselves down.

“I’m really grateful for the character and guts showed by the guys especially in the last five minutes where a lot of calls went against us.

“That one scrum I still cannot understand how we could have penalised even before the ball was fed into the scrum.

“But, that is the way it goes up north. It is difficult to play in the conditions we are not that accustomed to and the interpretation of the referees is quite strange to us. That is something we still need to learn to adapt to but the win was the most important thing to us.

“I would have taken a 3-0 or 7-6 win in Neath as well.”

The Cheetahs will have their sights set on first-ever back-to-back overseas wins in the PRO14 when they face Zebre next month, however, they will first enjoy a reset previous following a gruelling preseason, their successful Currie Cup campaign and the first seven rounds of the European competition.

The Cheetahs will reassemble after Christmas for the game against Zebre in Parma on 4 January 2020.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport