The Cheetahs outfit which was at near full-strength won the game at the Toyota Stadium 36-14, but the scoreline is rather flattering against a young and inexperienced Sharks team, who came to Bloemfontein to prove a point.

Handling errors in particular hurt the Cheetahs and there were a lot of points left out on the park. That said, the Cheetahs defensive effort was really good and this is a positive going forward. The Sharks first try by the winger, Phiko Sobahle, came off an intercept, while their second try was from a penalty try which was awarded by the referee, Jaco Peyper.

Jeandré Rudolph, Chucky van der Westhuizen, Marko Janse van Rensburg, Munier Hartzenberg, Daniel Kasende and Rewan Kruger all managed to score tries for the Cheetahs.

There are a few injury concerns coming out of the game with the most significant being that of the winger, Enver Brandt, who injured his ACL and the early prognosis is that his season is over and he is expected to be on the side-lines for 10 months. This is a devastating blow to the former Griquas flyer as he was slowly making his return from a long-term injury. The flyhalf, Siya Masuka, hyperextended his elbow and left the field early in the first half. It does however appear that the injury is nothing to be too concerned about.

A positive for the Cheetahs was the game that Reinhardt Fortuin played, albeit it for a short while. The player who is playing at inside centre these days returned from international duty with the Netherlands, and dictated the game well at flyhalf. He showed a lot of maturity in his game and dictated the proceedings well, and this gives the Cheetahs options in the number ten jersey going forward.

The coach, Hawies Fourie, told OFM Sport that Fortuin made a difference when he came onto the part.

“He can be satisfied, but he was just one of the few,” said Fourie.

“He played well in that last 20 minutes and he made a difference. He took the line on with the right options at ten and that brought a bit of rhythm to our game, but the amount of handling errors was disappointing.”

Next up for the Cheetahs will be the opening match of the Currie Cup against the Griquas in Kimberly on 10 March.

Cheetahs: Tries - Jeandré Rudolph, Chucky van der Westhuizen, Marko Janse van Rensburg, Munier Hartzenberg, Daniel Kasende, Rewan Kruger Conv. - Ruan Pienaar, Reinhardt Fortuin 2.

Sharks: Tries - Phiko Sobahle, Penalty Try Conv. - Nevalo Fleurs.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport