Robbie Petzer scored 18 points as the Free State Cheetahs claimed a comeback 33-32 bonus-point win over the Pumas in Bloemfontein on Friday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
The Cheetahs’ title defence has lost momentum in recent weeks after heavy losses to Western Province and the Sharks, but they will be buoyed by this gutsy result.
Midway through the second half, the Cheetahs trailed by as many as 13 points, but a brace of tries from Petzer enabled the hosts to complete a thrilling victory that ensures they remain in second place on the Currie Cup standings.
This contest initially saw an interesting clash of styles, with the Pumas turning to their impressive scrum and powerful maul to gain good rewards, while the Cheetahs embraced a typically ambitious ball-in-hand approach.
As it was, the Pumas’ two tries in the first half – scored by Frankie Herne and Jerome Pretorius – both owed their origins to effective mauls, and the Cheetahs responded with well-worked five-pointers to Zee Mkhabela and Cecil Afrika.
It meant that all that separated the sides at the break was a solitary penalty to Pumas flyhalf Kobus Marais, with the Cheetahs’ ill-discipline having let them down at times in the opening stanza.
It provided a sense that it may just be a matter of time before the Pumas took control of proceedings, and they seemingly did just that in the third quarter as Willie Engelbrecht went over to score soon after the restart, and Marais slotted a 56th-minute penalty to push the lead out to 13 points.
From there, it seemed as if the Pumas might cruise to victory, but the Cheetahs came roaring back as Reinach Venter and Petzer scored on either side of the hour mark to suddenly send the hosts into a one-point lead.
Justin van Staden briefly put the Pumas back in front when he scored in the 67th minute, but Petzer would have the final say with a match-winning try late in the game.
Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Zee Mkhabela, Cecil Afrika, Reinach Venter, Robbie Petzer (2). Conversions: Petzer (4).
Pumas – Tries: Frankie Herne, Jerome Pretorius, Willie Engelbrecht, Justin van Staden. Conversions: Kobus Marais (3). Penalties: Marais (2).
Free State Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Vuyani Maqina, 13 Ali Mgijima, 12 Lloyd Greeff, 11 Cecil Afrika, 10 Robbie Petzer, 9 Zee Mkhabela, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Chris Dry (c), 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Carl Wegner, 4 Dennis Visser, 3 Erich de Jager, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Gert Coetzee.
Substitutes: 16 Reinach Venter, 17 Andrew Kuhn, 18 Jeremy Jordaan, 19 Nicolaas Immelman, 20 JP Smith, 21 JW Jonker, 22 Stephan janse van Rensburg.
Pumas – 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 Gerrit Smith, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Ruwellyn Isbell, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Brian Shabangu, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Frankie Herne, 1 Kwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Cameron Lindsay, 19 Fancois Kleinhans, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Theo Maree, 22 Selom Gavor.
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
