The Cheetahs made it four wins on the bounce in the Currie Cup with their bonus point 47-31 win over the Lions in a fierce battle of the big cats at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon (2pm kick-off), ending a losing run that had stretched back to 2023.
The home side were made to sweat in the second half, however, as they ran in seven tries to go top of the log, level on 21 points with the Boland Cavaliers.
The Cheetahs earned a succession of early penalties and Lions flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela was pinged for head contact in the tackle and sent to the sin bin after three minutes. The home side opted for the scrum and rumbled the ball over the line, with forward Marko Janse van Rensburg dotting down. Cohen Jasper converted.
The Cheetahs hooker got his second try off another rolling maul after 10 minutes, as the home side made the extra player count. Their exit play was top notch, as they repaid Lions kicks with interest.
Frans Steyn’s side got their third five-pointer after a great set play in midfield off a scrum unleashed Prince Nkabinde, who darted down the right wing and scored in the corner despite the attentions of Kelly Mpeku.
The versatile Franco Smith was dictating play for the Cheetahs at flyhalf as the backs feasted on front-foot ball created by their forwards.
In fact, the Free Staters were dominating all facets of play with the Lions becoming increasingly ragged.
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Dobela was struggling to read the flight of the ball in a game of aerial ping-pong that Cheetahs fullback Clayton Blommetjies was winning. The Lions pivot went off for a head injury assessment and was replaced by youngster Sam Francis.
Lock Ruben Schoeman was then shown yellow after 30 minutes, adding to the pressure on the visitors. They defended their try line tenaciously, until Blommetjies forced his way over on the left wing after a number of tight phases. He converted his own try, which earned his side the bonus point.
Fullback Gianni Lombard hit back for the Lions with five minutes to go till half-time, racing down the left wing and beating two defenders. The score was 26-5 at the break.
Coach Mziwakhe Nkosi’s Lions looked full of running at the start of the second half, and hooker Morne Brandon profited with their second try of the match four minutes into the stanza. Francis landed the extra two points to bring the visitors back into the game (26-12).
The Cheetahs’ riposte was swift, with a brilliant Gideon van der Merwe backdoor pass to Michael Annies bringing their fifth try. The score was 33-12 with more than 50 minutes played.
The Lions, to their credit, continued to attack and Angelo Davids bagged his third Currie Cup try, after he was well set up by Francis on the right wing. Mpeku also came close on the opposite wing with the momentum clearly with the Lions.
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It was no surprise when scrumhalf Nico Steyn broke the Cheetahs’ defensive line to score his side’s fourth try and secure the bonus point with 20 minutes to go (33-26).
Steyn then turned over to slip Rynhardt Jonker in with a well-executed grubber from 5m out that the centre pounced on. Francis hooked the conversion attempt but the Lions were only two points behind with the wind in their sails.
Another yellow, this time for Cheetahs’ flyhalf Smith, added to home fans’ nerves. The Lions then won a penalty and opted for a scrum in the Cheetahs’ 22 but a crucial Cheetahs steal put Nkabinde into space and the speedster’s chip chase took them close to the Lions try line. An intentional Lions knockdown at the subsequent ruck led to the award of a penalty try and saw Lombard sin-binned.
The advantage was once again with the home side, who managed to end the match as a contest with a late Jandre Nel try that Blommetjies converted.
Cheetahs 47 (26)
Try scorers: Janse van Rensburg (2), Nkabinde, Blommeties, Annies, Penalty try, Nel; Conversions: Jasper (2), Blommetjies (3).
Lions 31 (5)
Try scorers: Lombard, Brandon, Davids, Steyn, Jonker; Conversions: Francis (3).
