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the Cheetahs the curtain fell on Super Rugby Unlocked with a hard-fought 28-9 victory over him Griquas in a wet Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The result means the Cheetahs finish fourth on the record with the winless Griquas finishing last.
Earlier on Saturday, the Bulls secured the Super Rugby Unlocked title with victory over the Pumas in a tournament that saw three games lost due to players testing positive or coming into close contact with the coronavirus.
All registration points will now carry over to another round of matches under the Currie Cup banner, where the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals.
The conditions did not make rugby particularly attractive, but the home team finally made the most of their opportunities to take the victory by extra points.
However, the Griquas were competitive for most of the game, and the final score probably flatters the Cheetahs a bit.
The hosts got off to the best possible start when wing Andisa Ntsila crossed for her first attempt with just over three minutes on the scoreboard. Opting for an attacking line-out after receiving a penalty deep in Griquas territory, the ball moved to the blind side where Rosko Specman showed off his Sevens skills to keep the ball in play before Ntsila caught it and shot out.
However, the conversion was lost and it wasn’t long before the visitors cut back on delays as elevated middle Tinus de Beer converted after a break-up penalty.
The hosts were soon back on the attack, with Specman in particular proving to be a handful, and reestablishing their five-point lead within minutes after winning a penalty of their own, Tian Schoeman made no mistake this time.
Eight minutes later, a scrum penalty in kickable position allowed De Beer to add three more points to Griquas’ account.
A potential attempt looked at the cards for the Cheetahs soon after thanks to more good work from Specman, but Howard Mnisi couldn’t hold on to the winger’s pass live in midfield and the opportunity went begging.
Three minutes before halftime, the Griquas took the lead for the first time in the game when Schoeman nailed his third penalty after a Cheetahs player failed to roll into the inning.
The visitors were the first to attack early in the second half, but the Cheetahs weathered the storm and were rewarded with their second attempt of the game in the 50th minute. Setting up a lineout on Griquas’ five-meter line, a maul Rolling was about to carry them all the way before the ball drifted to where Mnisi was waiting to score. The conversion was lost, but the Cheetahs came back to the front, 13-9.
Midway through the half, the Griquas flew for not dropping at the tackle within their own 22, allowing Schoeman to take aim and extend the Cheetahs’ lead to seven points.
The Griquas had a chance to return the favor at the other end minutes after the Cheetahs were penalized for a side entry into the ruck, but opted for a lineout and spilled the ball after several phases camped out near the try line. of the opponent.
The Cheetahs put the game to bed with nine minutes remaining with an attempt that grew out of a comedy of errors. Clayton Blommetjies delivered a grubber kick for Specman, and while he was unable to take control of the ball and dive, several Griquas players also failed to deal with the danger on the ground, allowing Ruben de Haas to come up behind and snatch a gift. of a try.
There was time for one more attempt to rub salt on Griquas’s wounds, as the ball quickly recycled from an attacking lineout allowed Jeandre Rudolph to run a long line and cut through traffic to score.
Scorers:
Cheetahs 28 (8)
Attempts: Anidisa Ntsila, Howard Mnisi, Ruben de Haas, Jeandre Rudolph
Conversion: Frans Steyn
Penalties: Tian Schoeman
Griquas 9 (9)
Penalties: Tinus de Beer (3)
Cheetahs
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Rhyno Smith, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Aidon Davis, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Carl Wegner (captain), 4 Ian Groenewald , 3 Hencus van Wyk, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Boan Venter
Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Oupa Mohoje, 20 Chris Massyn, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Reinhardt Fortuin, 23 William Small-Smith
Griquas
15 Masixole Banda, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Johnathan Francke, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Zak Burger (captain), 8 Carl Els, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Adre Smith, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 HJ Luus, 1 Mox Mxoli.
Substitutes (from): 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Madot Mabokela, 19 Ewan Coetzee, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Theo Maree, 22 Andre Swarts, 23 Daniel Kasende, 24 Bandisa Ndlovu, 25 Sibabalo Qoma, 26 Ashlon Davids
