In what was a crucial derby for both sides, they both entered the game with their sights set on a win seeing that the Cheetahs were looking to secure their spot in the semi-finals and the Peacock Blues needed to keep their chances of making the knockout rounds alive.

The Cheetahs opened the scoring in the game with a try from flanker, Sibablo Qoma. It was a back and forth battle with both sides fighting hard for the lead but the first-half was mostly dominated by the Griquas who managed a 23-19 lead by the time the first half came to a close.

Penalties from Lubabalo Dobela kept them in a far stretched lead until the Cheetahs clawed their way back with securing a try on the brink of the first half's close. Pienaar, who started at flyhalf this week, converted and managed to begin to bridge the gap in score heading into the halftime break.

For Van der Merwe, touching down was extra special as he celebrated his 50th match for the Toyota Cheetahs this week.  Speaking about his 50th game, Marnus stated, “I’m privileged and somewhat overwhelmed that I was able to play this amount of games for a single union with people believing in me and the talent God gave me.

The second half was kicked off with a try from the Cheetahs flank, Gideon van der Merwe, securing a bonus point for the home side. Along with Pienaar’s conversion, the Cheetahs now took the lead with 26 to 23 on the board.

The score was evened out by Dobela in the 57th minute as he secured another penalty for the Griquas and the game, soon after, fell into another back and forth motion as both sides fought for the lead. 

George Whitehead took another penalty for the Griquas in the final 10 minutes taking the score to a 26-29 lead for the Griquas but it was Pienaar’s overtime penalty that sealed the game at a 29 all draw.

With the Cheetahs securing 4 tries throughout the game, they managed to secure a bonus point despite their draw. The log leaders did however fall to second place on the log this week with 41 points, 2 shy of the now leading Natal Sharks.

CHEETAHS

Tries: Sibabalo Qoma, Cohen Jasper, Marnus van der Merwe, Gideon van der Merwe

Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (3)

Penalty: Ruan Pienaar

GRIQUAS

Tries: Janco Uys, Daniel Sjoblom

Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela

Penalties: Lubabalo Dobela 3, George Whitehead 2

Kayla Barker/OFM Sport