At half-time, Scarlets led the game 10-3 after a try by fullback Steff Evans followed by a conversion and penalty from Leigh Halfpenny.

The second half of the game saw the Cheetahs fight back, pushing the score to a 17-10 lead after tries from Louis van der Westhuizen followed by another from Daniel Kasende and two successful conversions by Siya Masuku secured their 7 point lead by the 50th minute.

Scarlets successfully fought back with their only try of the second half through Johnny McNicholl followed by a conversion and later a penalty secured by Halfpenny leading to their 20-17 victory over the Cheetahs. 

The Toyota Cheetahs entered into the game with their focus on making a success of their round 3 game in order to secure their position in the playoffs. Unfortunately a loss against Scarlets this week places a lot of pressure on their round 4 game next week against Section Paloise. 

Following the weekend’s Pool B game results, the Cheetahs have moved to 7th on the Pool B log with 6 points to show. Section Paloise lost 15 - 21 to the Dragons on Friday and are currently 6th on the log with also 6 points. Seeing that only the top 6 teams will qualify to advance, a tough game awaits both sides as they fight for their place in the playoffs.

The Cheetahs are set to face Section Paloise in Pau next week on the 22nd of January at 17:15 at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. 

Try Scorers:

Cheetahs 17 (3)

Tries: Louis van der Westhuizen,  Daniel Kasende

Conversions: Siya Masuku (2)

Penalty: Siya Masuku 

Scarlets 17 (10)

Tries: Steff Evans, Johnny McNicholl

Conversions: Leigh Halfpenny (2)

Penalties: Leigh Halfpenny (2)

Kayla Barker/OFM Sport