The Cheetahs raced to a 21-8 lead at half time, but once again their discipline in the second half let them down, but despite playing with just 13 men on the park towards the latter stages they managed to hold on for the victory.

Jeandré Rudolph opened the scoring for the Cheetahs with a converted try, before the hooker Marnus van der Merwe dotted down for the first of his two tries.

Van der Merwe then completed his brace for what was his fifth try in the four-match series.

The Forces’ points in the first half came via a Bayley Kuenzle penalty and an unconverted Harry Potter try.

The Cheetahs fullback, Tapiwa Mafura, scored the Cheetahs fourth try some 16 minutes into the second stanza.

Yellow cards 90 seconds apart for Marko Janse van Rensburg and Friedle Olivier allowed the Force back into the game as the replacement, Rewita Biddle, strolled for a try in the 67th minute.

Ruan Pienaar gave the Cheetahs some breathing room with a penalty, but just minutes later the hooker, Tom Horton, scored for the Force.

Pienaar landed another penalty just three minutes from full time to secure the win for the visitors from Bloemfontein.

The Cheetahs will return to Bloemfontein after winning the series 3-1 and they will take a bit of a break before continuing their preparation for the upcoming EPCR Challenge Cup. The Cheetahs will want to address their discipline in a big way as in both games in Australia they conceded multiple yellow cards which allowed their opponents back into the game on each occasion.

The Cheetahs will face the Griffons in Bloemfontein and the Lions in Johannesburg in November before heading to Italy for their opening game of the European Challenge Cup in December.

Scorers:

Force: Tries – Harry Potter, Rewita Biddle, Tom Horton Conv. - Bayley Kuenzle 2 Pen. - Kuenzle

Cheetahs: Tries – Jeandré Rudolph, Marnus van der Merwe 2, Tapiwa Mafura Conv. – Ruan Pienaar 3 Pen. – Pienaar 2

Western Force - 15 Harry Potter, 14 George Poolman, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Bayley Kuenzle, 11 Ronan Leahy, 10 Max Burey, 9 Henry Robertson, 8 Jeremy Williams, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Faamanu Kalolo, 5 Lopeti Faifua, 4 Jackson Pugh, 3 Tiaan Tauakipulu, 2 Tom Horton, 1 Marley Pearce

Replacements - 16 Ford Hemi, 17 Angus Wagner, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Reagan Leslie, 20 Albert Alcock, 21 Ian Prior, 22 Reesjan Pasitoa, 23 Rewita Biddle

Cheetahs - 15 Tapiwa Mafura, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Reinhardt Fortuin, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Friedle Olivier, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Rynier Bernardo, 3 Laurence Victor, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Schalk Ferreira.

 Replacements - 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 George Lourens, 22 Abner van Reenen, 23 Robert Ebersohn.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport