Toyota Cheetahs' were made to work hard for the first forty minutes of their match against the USA Falcons tonight. However, on the back of their dominant forwards, the Toyota Cheetahs ran away with the match in the second half to win 53-25, outscoring their visitors with eight tries to three.
The first twenty minutes of the first half started slowly with both teams trying to establish some sort of dominance. It took the Toyota Cheetahs ten minutes to score the first try of the match which suddenly set the match on fire. Fifteen minutes later the spectators were treated to four tries with the visitors leading 14-12.
The second quarter continued to be played at the same fast pace, as the last ten minutes of the first quarter. A try by the Toyota Cheetahs and two converted penalties by USA Falcons gave the visitors a slight lead going into the second half with 20-17.
The Toyota Cheetahs came out at the start of the second half dominating their visitors completely. The dominance of the Toyota Cheetahs' forwards was complete which explains the three tries scored in the third quarter by the hosts, all from five-meter lineout-mauls. The Toyota Cheetahs led 41-20 with twenty minutes to go.
During the final twenty minutes of the match the game did slow down quite a bit, however, the USA Falcons did not throw in the towel and tried until the last seconds of the match. However, the hosts did enough to cruise home with deserved a 46-20 win
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs: Tries: Cohen Jasper, Sibabalo Qoma, Munier Harzenbeurg, Marko Janse van Rensburg (2), Jeandre Rudolph, Rosco Specman, Victor Sekekete. Conversions: Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar (5). Penalty: Ruan Pienaar.
USA Falcons: Tries: Jamason Fa'Anana-Schultz, Christian Dyer, Tavite Lopeti. Conversions: Luke Carty (2). Penalty: Luke Carty.
As It Happened:
11:09 Cohan Jasper scored the Toyota Cheetahs' first points of the match after some great interplay between himself and Roscoe Specman. (07-00)
15:05 Sibabalo Qoma bulldozed his way over the try line to score Toyota Cheetahs' second try of the match. The Toyota Cheetahs launched attack after attack on the tryline of the visitors until Quoma went over in the corner. (12-00)
20:52 Jamason Fa'Anana-Schultz broke away from a five-meter lineout-maul to score USA Falcons' first points (12-07)
24:22 Christian Dyer stepped his way over the Toyota Cheetahs' tryline to ensure an early lead for the USA Falcons. (12-14)
34:19 Luke Carty converted a penalty for the USA Falcons. (12-17)
38:45 Munier Harzenbeurg scored the Toyota Cheetahs' third try. The Toyota Cheetahs launched attack after attack with a great pass by Roscoe Sprecman creating the space for Hartzenberg to score. (17-17)
41:51 Luke Carty converted a second penalty. (17-20)
43:24 Ruan Pienaar converted a penalty for the Toyota Cheetahs. (20-20)
47:26 Marko Janse van Rensburg scored Toyota Cheetahs' third try from the back of a five-meter lineout-maul. (27-20)
52:14 Marko Janse van Rensburg scored Toyota Cheetahs' fourth try from the back of a five-meter lineout-maul. (34-20)
57:45 Jeandre Rudolph scored Toyota Cheetahs' fifth try of the match as the Toyota Cheetahs is unable to stop a five-meter lineout-maul. (41-20)
60:50 Rosco Specman scored an impressive individual try that started in his own half. (46-20)
76:07 Tavite Lopeti, scored a consolation try for the visitors. (46-25)
79:22 The Toyota Cheetahs had the final say as Victor Sekekete force his way over the tryline of the USA Falcons. The Cheetahs attacked from the kickoff. (53-25)
Teams:
Toyota Cheetahs: 15. Cohen Jasper, 14. Munier Hartzenberg, 13. Evardi Boshoff, 12. Frans Steyn, 11. Roscoe Sprecman, 10. George Lourens, 9. Branden de Kock, 8. Oupa Mohoje, 7. Sibabalo Qoma, 6. Marnus vd Merwe, 5. Victor Sekekete (c), 4. Rynier Bernardo, 3. Conraad van Vuuren, 2. Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1. Schalk Ferreira. Replacements: 16. Janus Venter, 17. Cameron Dawson, 18. Hencus van Wyk, 19. Jean Droste, 20. Jeandre Rudolph, 21. Ruan Pienaar, 22. Reinhardt Fortuin, 23. Robert Ebersohn.
USA Falcons: 15. Marcel Brache, 14. Mitch Wilson, 13. Bryce Campbell (c), 12. Paul Lasike, 11. Christian Dyer, 10. Luke Carty, 9. Nate Augspurger, 8. Jamason Fa'Anana-Schultz, 7. Cory Daniel, 6. Viliami Helu, 5. Nick Civetta, 4. Keni Nasoqeqe, 3. Paul Mullen, 2. Dylan Fawsitt. Replacements: 16. Kaleb Geiger, 17. Chance Wenglewski, 18. Angus Maclellan, 19. Siaosi Mahoni, 20. Cam Dolan, 21. Duncan van Schalkwyk, 22. Tavite Lopeti, 23. Chris Mattina.