Apart from the first 15 minutes in the second half, the Toyota Cheetahs dominated the Windhoek Draught Griquas to win 42-19 in Kimberley on Friday afternoon. The Toyota Cheetahs earned 5 points with their disciplined display.
The first ten minutes of the match was an even affair with the Griquas maybe just the dominant side on the attack as both teams showed that they were willing to spread the ball whenever the opportunity presented.
The Cheetahs opened the scoring when Marnus van der Merwe scored the first try of the match as well as the 2023 Currie Cup season's first try, from the back of a 5m lineout maul. Ruan Pienaar's conversion gave the visitors an early seven-point lead.
The yellow card to Rynier Bernardo (Cheetahs) was easily absorbed by the Toyota Cheetahs, and a converted penalty by Ruan Pienaar resulted in a well-deserved 10-00 lead with 20 minutes of play left in the first half.
The Toyota Cheetahs continued their dominance in the first half, and Gideon van der Merwe scored a second try from a 5m lineout-maul to extend their lead to 15-00.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas was on the attack for a good five minutes, however, a yellow card to Rosko Specman, with five minutes of play left in the first half gave the Toyota Cheetahs an easy escape and an opportunity to attack.
Following a second penalty and a brilliant line kick by Frans Steyn, Jeandrè Rudolph scored the Toyota Cheetahs' third try following an onslaught by the Toyota Cheetahs from a 5m lineout-maul to go into the halftime rest leading 22-00.
The main difference between the two teams, after 40 minutes of play, was the number of penalties conceded by the hosts which resulted in the Toyota Cheetahs setting up camp in the Windhoek Draught Griquas' half. Great work by the loosies of the Toyota Cheetahs also resulted in several turnovers from which the Toyota Cheetahs attacked.
Several penalties conceded early in the second half by the host allowed the Toyota Cheetahs' Friedle Olivier to bulldoze his way past several Windhoek Draught Griquas defenders. The try by Olivier earned the four-try bonus point for the visitors.
The Windhoek Draught Griquas, with thirty minutes of play left, started to get their hands on quality attacking ball. A yellow card to Friedle Olivier (Toyota Cheetahs) resulted in Gustav du Rand forcing his way over the visitors' tryline following a 5m lineout-maul. The Windhoek Draught Griquas trailed 07-29 after 52 minutes of play.
Despite another converted penalty by Ruan Pienaar the Windhoek Draught Griquas continued to attack with purpose. A brilliant pass by Lubabalo Dobela put Luther Obi in a gap to score the host's second try. The Cheetahs' lead was reduced to 32-14 after 55 minutes of play, with the momentum shifting in the home team's favour.
The Toyota Cheetahs clawed their way back into the match, and after five minutes of a continued attack, a long skipped pass by Ruan Pienaar to Daniel Kasende allowed Kasende to walk over for the Toyota Cheetahs' fifth try that extended their lead to 39-14 and fifteen minutes to play.
With 10 minutes to go, the match lost most of its structure and despite Daniel Kasende's (Toyota Cheetahs) yellow card the Toyota Cheetahs kept on attacking which resulted in the third converted penalty by Ruan Pienaar to extend the Toyota Cheetahs read to 42-14.
A consolation try by Windhoek Draught Griques following some great play at a 5m lineout reduced the Toyota Cheetahs' lead to 42-19 which was also the final score.
Scorers:
Windhoek Draught Griquas: Tries: Gustav du Rand (2), Luther Obi. Conversion: Lubabalo Dobela (2).
Toyota Cheetahs: Tries: Marnus van der Merwe, Gideon van der Merwe, Jeandrè Rudolph, Friedle Olivier, Daniel Kasende. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (4). Penalties: Ruan Pienaar (3).
Teams:
Windhoek Draught Griquas: 15 Jay-Cee Nel, 14. Rosko Specman, 13. Sango Xamlashe, 12. Zander du Plessis, 11. Luther Obi, 10. Lubabalo Dobela, 9. Johan Mulder, 8. Janco Venter, 7. Stephan Smit, 6. Niel Otto (c), 5. Derik Pretorius, 4. Albert Liebenberg, 3. Janu Botha, 2. Janco Uys, 1. Kudzwai Dube. Replacements: 16. Gustav du Rand, 17. Cebo Dlamini, 18. Junior Banda, 19. Johan Retief, 20. Carl Els, 21. Bobby Alexander, 22. George Whitehead, 23. Malcolm Jaer.
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Tapiwa Mafura, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Munier Hartzenberg, 10. Reinhardt Fortuin, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Jeandrè Rudolph, 7. Friedle Olivier, 6. Gideon van der Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete (c), 4. Rynier Bernardo, 3. Hencus van Wyk, 2. Marnus van der Merwe, 1. Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: 16. Louis van der Westhuizen, 17. Alulutho Tshakweni, 18. Conraad van Vuuren, 19. Mzwanele Zito, 20. Daniel Maartens, 21. Rewan Kruger, 22. Evardi Boshoff, 23. Cohen Jasper.
