The Cheetahs, who fielded several players short of regular game time, led 28-7 at halftime and ultimately proved too strong for the determined and physical Romanians. The hosts ran in seven tries on the night, with powerful winger Prince Nkabinde leading the charge by scoring a hat-trick. 

The speedster celebrated his third try in style with a spectacular somersault as he crossed the whitewash.

Cohen Jasper missing out on a try due to great cover-defence by Romania A. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Cheetahs, who made 14 changes to their starting line-up, got off to a flying start and raced into a 14-0 lead within six minutes. The ball was moved wide with purpose and precision, and it appeared early on that the visitors would struggle to keep pace. 

However, the Cheetahs’ backline was briefly caught napping when Australian-born centre Jason Tomane crossed for Romania A’s opening try.

Despite their dominance, the hosts will be frustrated by a number of missed tackles and squandered opportunities during the first half.

Romania, meanwhile, will rue a series of costly penalties in the opening stanza, repeatedly handing the Cheetahs attacking opportunities. That pressure resulted in two quick-fire tries, allowing the home side to open up a comfortable 28-7 lead within the first 30 minutes.

The Romanians had clearly done their homework on the Free Staters’ line-outs and managed to disrupt several attacking platforms, while also applying pressure in the set-pieces.

The Cheetahs came under significant pressure in the scrums early in the second half. Flanker Yanis Horvat was held up over the tryline, while Fijian-born winger Iliesa Tiqe was also denied a score.

Australian-born Jason Tomane flying over for Romania A. Photo: Morgan Piek

Romania then overplayed their hand deep inside their own territory when Nkabinde intercepted a pass that bounced off the turf. The Cheetahs were stopped just short at the other end moments later, but Nkabinde eventually dotted down in the corner to complete his hat-trick and cap an outstanding individual display after a relatively quiet outing against the Lusitanos.

Replacement back Hinckley Vaovasa’s try in the 72nd minute proved to be the visitors’ only points of the second half.

Flanker Thabang Mahlasi and eighth-man Gideon van der Merwe then crossed in the closing stages to put the finishing touches on another encouraging performance by the Free Staters.

Gideon van der Merwe scoring his try for the Cheetahs. Photo: Morgan Piek

Coach Frans Steyn told OFM Sport that while he included several experienced players in the team, he expects higher standards from his side as the Currie Cup draws closer.

“I don’t think there were a lot of guys in that who didn’t play a lot over the last couple of months. There were guys like Sasko Ndlovu coming back from injury and all of that,” said Steyn.

“But I mean, I tried to put some senior heads in there as well, like Gideon and Zander du Plessis. Tiaan Swanepoel has played a lot of rugby in South Africa, so I tried to even it out a bit.

Former UFS Shimlas captain Thabang Mahlasi getting in on the action for the Cheetahs. Photo: Morgan Piek

“From the playing part, I was happy with the first 10, 20 minutes and then the last five. I mean, the tries that they scored against us were just one or two guys going off on their own thing.

“If we’re going into the Currie Cup, we need better performances. And it’s the same thing; we lost the ball in contact seven times in the first half. We need to fix the small things, and I think the time for excuses is done.

“I mean, I think out of everybody, we rotated the most during the SA Cup. Not when we were in trouble, but I mean, over the last year and a half, we’ve rotated a lot.

The Upington-born Grey College old boy Nicolaas Immelman, leading Romania A onto the field. Photo: Morgan Piek

“At the end, the guys worked hard. It was a scrappy game, but as soon as they decide they’re going to run straight, keep the ball, go through phases, we put teams under pressure.

“So we just need to get confidence out of that and build on that.”

The Cheetahs will wrap up their Toyota Challenge campaign on Sunday when they face Georgia’s Black Lion at the Toyota Stadium. Kick-off is at 16:30.

Scorers:

Cheetahs: Tries - De-an Ackermann, Prince Nkabinde 3, Ethan Wentzel, Thabang Mahlasi, Gideon van der Merwe Conv. - Tiaan Swanepoel 4, Cohen Jasper 2

Romania A: Tries - Jason Tomane, Hinckley Vaovasa Conv. - Alin Conache, Jondré Williams

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh