Rugby
Late Keyter try sinks Cheetahs in Bloemfontein─── MORGAN PIEK 20:29 Sat, 17 Aug 2024
“I think that was the big difference – they used their opportunities and we didn’t. That’s the position we’ve put ourselves in now, every week is going to be an important one, so we just have to fix our mistakes this week.”
The Toyota Cheetahs Currie Cup title defence is under pressure following a late 25-20 defeat to the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Cheetahs’ discipline, handling and decision-making let them down at the Toyota Stadium, while the Sharks were much better at capitalising on their chances.
Lionel Cronjé opened the scoring in Bloemfontein with a penalty before Ethan Wentzel levelled matters with a three-pointer of his own.
‘A front-row change saw the Cheetahs gaining dominance in the scrum’
The game swung in favour of the Sharks when their winger Yaw Penxe scored a brace of tries within two minutes to make it a 12-point game. The hooker, Corné Fourie, scored a vital try for the Cheetahs two minutes before half-time, but Cronjé had the last say with a penalty on the stroke of half-time for an 18-10 lead.
A front-row change early in the second stanza saw the Cheetahs gaining dominance in the scrum, but they struggled to make this work in their favour for a lengthy period. The replacement hooker, Vernon Paulo, did manage to score the Cheetahs’ second try in the 51st minute. With six minutes left to play Wentzel ran in for a try to hand the Cheetahs the lead for the first time.
The joy was short-lived as the former Griquas winger, Eduan Keyter, struck back three minutes later with the match-winning try for the Sharks. The Sharks had an opportunity on full-time to deny the Cheetahs a losing bonus point. However, Cronje’s penalty attempt sailed wide.
The Cheetahs’ coach, Izak van der Westhuizen, told OFM Sport they only had to blame themselves for the defeat.
‘They scored off two of our mistakes’
“We had our opportunities and missed them and they scored off two of our mistakes,” said Van der Westhuizen.
“I think that was the big difference – they used their opportunities and we didn’t. That’s the position we’ve put ourselves in now, every week is going to be an important one, so we just have to fix our mistakes this week.”
On Saturday, the Cheetahs will face the second-placed Lions in Bloemfontein and this game at the Toyota Stadium kicks off at 17:15.
Scorers:
Cheetahs: Tries – Corné Fourie, Vernon Paulo, Ethan Wentzel Conv. – Wentzel Pen. – Wentzel
Sharks: Tries – Yaw Penxe 2, Eduan Keyter Conv. – Lionel Cronjé 2 Pen. – Cronje 2
OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh/cg
