The Toyota Cheetahs maintained their unbeaten run in the Carling Currie Cup with a commanding 43-21 victory over the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein. A devastating final 15 minutes saw the hosts cross the whitewash three times to blow open what had been a fiercely contested, see-saw battle.
The Toyota Cheetahs signalled their intent right from the opening whistle. Just three minutes into the encounter, scrumhalf Faf de Klerk unlocked the visitors' defence with a brilliant grubber kick, which was perfectly gathered by winger Prince Nkabinde to open the scoring. Flyhalf Jaco van der Walt added the conversion to give the home side an early 07-00 advantage.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks XV responded with composure, patiently building phases and working their way into the Cheetahs' red zone. Their persistence paid off in the 10th minute when centre Janco Purchase crashed through for a well-worked team try. Tim Swiel added the extras from the tee to level the scores at 07-07.
The deadlock lasted only three minutes. The Cheetahs struck back immediately through De Klerk, who darted over for a soft try of his own. Van der Walt’s conversion quickly restored the hosts' seven-point cushion at 14-07.
However, the Sharks XV refused to back down. Approaching the 25-minute mark, prop Simphiwe Ngobese showed immense power to bulldoze his way over the line. Swiel split the uprights with the conversion, sending the teams down the tunnel locked at 14-14 at the halftime break.
The Cheetahs mirrored their explosive start in the second stanza. Only four minutes after the restart, Juan Venter gathered a sharp pass from the influential De Klerk and outsprinted the cover defence to dot down, edging the Cheetahs ahead 19-14.
The momentum shifted when Cheetahs captain Victor Sekekete was sent to the sin-bin. Capitalising on the temporary numerical advantage, the Sharks XV launched a sweeping multi-phase attack that saw the ball move through several pairs of hands before Marnus Potgieter crashed over. Swiel’s successful conversion put the Durban-based outfit into the lead for the first time at 21-19.
The advantage was short-lived. The Cheetahs hit back instantly from the restart. Crisp handling sent Nkabinde into space, and the winger finished clinically to seal both his brace and the crucial four-try scoring bonus point, reclaiming a 24-21 lead.
An intense, 20-minute midfield arm wrestle followed, with both defences refusing to yield. The tactical deadlock was finally broken 14 minutes from time when Prince Nkabinde read the play, running a superb line off a driving maul to secure his hat-trick. The unconverted try extended the lead to 29-21.
With time ticking away and the Sharks XV tiring, the Cheetahs displayed great situational awareness. Demanding a quick tap penalty, Daniel Maartens caught the defence sleeping to power over from close range. Van der Walt made no mistake with the conversion, widening the gap to 36-21 with four minutes on the clock.
The hosts put the final exclamation mark on the performance directly from the ensuing kickoff. De Klerk anticipated a loose pass from Swiel, snatching an interception to race away for his second try of the evening. Van der Walt added the conversion to cap off a comprehensive 43-21 victory, keeping the Cheetahs firmly on the front foot in the tournament.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs: Tries: Prince Nkabinde (3), Faf de Klerk (2), Juan Venter, Daniel Maartens. Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (3).
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV: Tries: Janco Purchase, Simphiwe Ngobese, Marnus Potgieter. Conversions: Tim Swiel (3).
Teams:
Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenk (c), 7 Juan Venter, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Curtley Thomas, 4 Victor Sekekete, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Tielman Niewoudt. Replacements: 16 Juan Smal, 17 Tebogo Nkosi, 18 Ben Pitoit, 19 Simon Muller, 20 Sisonke Vumazonke, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Marco Janse van Vuren, 23 Henry Immelman
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV: 15 Chijindu Okonta, 14 Christie Grobbelaar, 13 Marnus Potgieter, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Lyle Matthews, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Thomas Dyer (c), 7 Danilo Botha, 6 Willem van den Hever, 5 Deon Slabbert, 4 Johan Momsen, 3 Simphiwe Ngobese, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Cameron Dawson. Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Jaco du Toit, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Sipho Nonyalela, 20 Hanu Pieterse, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Chris Horak, 23 Matthew Fortuin.