The Toyota Cheetahs got their SA Cup campaign off to a winning start in Bloemfontein on Friday evening with a 38-7 win against the Boland Cavaliers.

Despite the scoreline, the Cheetahs were made to work hard for the win, and they were certainly matched physically by the team from Wellington.

The Cavaliers were the first to score at the Toyota Stadium with their captain Thurlow Marsh crashing over for a converted try in the 11th minute of the game.

It took a further 11 minutes for the Cheetahs to get on the board, and this was through the flanker, Gideon van der Merwe, who scored a try.

Further tries by Ali Mgijima and Marnus van der Merwe saw the Currie Cup champions hold a 21-7 lead at half-time.

Van der Merwe completed his brace in the second half, while the Springbok winger, S’Bu Nkosi, scored his first try in a Cheetahs jersey, while Siba Xamlashe also crossed the whitewash.

For the Cheetahs there is still a lot to work on before they head to France for the round of 16 game against Clermont in the EPCR Challenge Cup in April, while there were also some positives.

The Cheetahs coach, Izak van der Westhuizen, told OFM Sport that their handling will probably enjoy the most focus ahead of their match against the Leopards in Potchefstroom.

“I think our handling was the thing that bothered us the most, " said Van der Westhuizen.

“We conceded a lot less penalties than normal, so I will say we definitely did a lot better in that area of the game.

“Just staying patient with the ball in hand - we were so keen to get tries that we forced offloads when they were not on. So, I think just staying patient and, in the systems, might be our biggest work-ons.”

The Leopards will tackle the Cheetahs next week Saturday, with this match at Olën Park kicking off at 15:00.

Scorers:

Cheetahs: Tries – Gideon van der Merwe, Ali Mgijima, Marnus van der Merwe 2, S’Bu Nkosi, Siba Xamlashe Conv. – Ruan Pienaar 4

Boland Cavaliers: Try – Thurlow Marsh Conv. – Darian Hock

Morgan Piek OFM Sport