Western Province couldn’t find a second gear in the second half as the Cheetahs turned things around in the second half to win the Currie Cup 28-21 at Cape Town Stadium on Friday evening.
WP led 16-7 at halftime because to a converted try and three penalty goals, while the Free State team scored a converted try.
In the end, three well-constructed, converted tries in the second half seal the victory for the Free Staters.
The Hawies Fourie-coached side remains unblemished and moves to within one point of the Bulls (32 points) in the Currie Cup league table, despite having played one game fewer than the Pretoria men.
The two teams had very different fortunes in this match. The home team dominated the first half, but the visitors from the Free State fared considerably better in the second half to keep their unbeaten record intact.
It was also a special day for Cheetahs prop Aranos Coetzee, who was playing in his 100th match for the Free State. The 34-year-old front-ranker has also represented Namibia in 24 Tests.
WP had all of the possession in the first ten minutes and came near to scoring on several occasions. The Free Staters, on the other hand, deserve credit for their intelligent defense, which kept the home team at bay.
With a pair of penalties awarded close to their visitors’ tryline, WP chose not to go for posts.
The Cheetahs, on the other hand, made good on their home tryline onslaught when prop Alulutho Tshakweni dove over for his first provincial try, with skipper Ruan Pienaar adding the extras.
Tim Swiel, the pivot, then put WP on the board with a simple penalty goal. (7-3).
Referee AJ Jacobs issued Tshakweni a yellow card for a repeated offence as the home team camped in their opponents’ 22m territory and conceded penalties at frequent intervals. This allowed Swiel to take a step forward and deflect the easy goal attempt (7-6).
WP fullback Tristan Leyds gave his team the lead when he scored a magnificent solo try that Swiel converted, and the No 10 added a third penalty kick to extend the Cape side’s half-time lead to 16-7.
When Angelo Davids (wing) was on hand to accept a final ball and dot down in the right-hand corner, he gave the home team a superb start to the second half. With a score of 21-7, WP had taken command.
The more experienced and battle-hardened Free Staters, on the other hand, were prepared to make it a difficult afternoon.
When hooker Louis van der Westhuizen reached the whitewash after a tremendous lineout mall, he proved it. With the conversion, Pienaar cut the margin to 21-14.
After a beautiful ball from the experienced Frans Steyn, outside centre David Brits was the next to cross the home tryline under the posts.
With Pienaar’s conversion, the sides were now tied at 21-21 with plenty of time remaining.
A vital scrum penalty in front of the opposing tryline provided the white jerseys with another lineout mall opportunity, which Van der Westhuizen seized with both hands to score his second of the day.
The Capetonians had a few chances to save the game, but they were frustrated by some basic errors.
SCORERS
Western Province
Tries: Tristan Leyds, Angelo Davids
Conversion: Tim Swiel
Penalties: Swiel (3)
Cheetahs
Tries: Alulutho Tshakweni, Louis van der Westhuizen (2), David Brits
Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (4)
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