Makazole Mapimpi and Torsten van Jaarsveld both scored a brace of tries as the Cheetahs secured a 44-25 bonus-point win over the Ospreys in Bloemfontein on Friday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
The Cheetahs continue to prove that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the Pro14 as they claimed a third successive win, having also beaten Zebre and Leinster.
For the Ospreys, it’s a fourth straight defeat – something that has only happened once previously in their history – but they were ultimately no match for the Cheetahs, despite the fact that the hosts were guilty of conceding a litany of penalties.
The Cheetahs enjoyed a storming start to the clash, with the hosts dominating possession and looking to expose the Ospreys’ defence with some audacious offloading that aimed to keep the ball alive.
The highlight of the opening quarter came in the 19th minute when some Mapimpi magic saw him produce a beautiful break, before offloading to William Small-Smith, who then popped the ball to Van Jaarsveld to go over unopposed.
Van Jaarsveld suddenly found himself on a hat-trick, with the mobile hooker having opened the scoring when he barrelled over from the back of a lineout drive early on.
However, it may have lulled the Cheetahs into a false sense of security as they lost concentration and conceded a string of penalties, with the Ospreys making them pay through tries to Rhys Webb and Kieron Fonotia.
Dan Biggar then slotted a 38th-minute penalty to suddenly send the Ospreys into the lead, but just before the break, Mapimpi went over in the corner to hand the Cheetahs a five-point advantage.
Biggar and Stafelberg traded penalties early in the second half, but a key moment came in the 57th minute when Paul Schoeman burrowed over the tryline from the back of a maul after the Cheetahs had opted to kick a penalty to touch.
The touchline conversion saw the Cheetahs move into a commanding 32-20 lead heading into the final quarter, and even when Van Jaarsveld was yellow-carded after repeated team offences, it never looked likely to cost them the result.
As it turned out, Mapimpi completed his brace in the absence of Van Jaarsveld, and while Ospreys fullback Dan Evans went over to score soon after, the Cheetahs would have the final say when Francois Venter dotted down for one more try, well after the final hooter had sounded.
Cheetahs – Tries: Torsten van Jaarsveld (2), Makazole Mapimpi (2), Paul Schoeman, Francois Venter. Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg (3), William Small-Smith. Penalties: Stapelberg (2).
Ospreys – Tries: Rhys Webb, Kieron Fonotia, Dan Evans. Conversions: Dan Biggar (2). Penalties: Biggar (2).
Cheetahs – 15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Oupa Mohoje, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais.
Subs: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Nico Lee, 23 Rosko Specman.
Ospreys – 15 Dan Evans, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ben John, 12 James Hook, 11 Jay Baker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 James King, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Subs: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Kieron Fonotia.
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
