The Emerging Ireland team signed off their tour to Bloemfontein unbeaten following a hard-fought 33-24 win against the Toyota Cheetahs in the Toyota Challenge.

The Cheetahs led the game 17-12 at halftime, but a strong performance and a yellow card led to the Irish clinching the game. In addition, it was the Cheetahs’ last game of a gruelling season which started in December 2023 already. The Cheetahs pushed hard in the first half, but the exhaustion was visible in their performance during the second stanza.

The fullback Michael Annies scored a brace of tries for the Cheetahs, while Robert Hunt and Corné Fourie also dotted down.

The Cheetahs opened the scoring in the 7th minute with an unconverted try by Hunt, but ten minutes later were denied when Friedle Olivier’s try was disallowed.

Try-saving tackle by Michael Annies on the Olympian Zac Ward. Photo: Morgan Piek

The Irish got on the board with the lock Evan O’Connell scoring from an attacking lineout, but the joy was short-lived as Annies went in for his first score to put the Cheetahs back in the lead. The hooker, Fourie, then made it a ten-point game for the hosts with a try from a lineout maul.

Shortly before half-time, the winger Andrew Osborne managed to score in the corner for the hosts, and Sam Prendergast was unable to convert the try.

Alex Soroka opened the scoring in the second half to put the visitors in the lead again. Shortly after Carl Wegner received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, Annies strolled in for his second try, but almost immediately Matthew Devine struck back for Ireland.

With just minutes remaining in the game, the replacement hooker, Danny Sheahan, scored a try for the Irish which distorted the scoreline a little as up until that point, it was still either team’s game to win. Jack Murphy successfully converted the try.

Following the match, the Ireland captain on the night, James Culhane, who was on his second tour to Bloemfontein, told OFM Sport that the Cheetahs made it difficult for them, but it was an important step in building towards next year’s Six Nations.

“The game had a bit of everything, I think, and physicality was the number one thing that won it,” said Culhane.

“Simon (Easterby) kind of mentioned it when we first met back at the HPC (High Performance Centre) in Ireland, about just having a clear pathway and that this is a stepping stone towards the Six Nations.

“So, we talked about how in the last tour, I think there were 48 caps for the senior team that came from that. So, it's definitely not a million miles away, and I think everyone’s trying to push towards that.”

Sam Prendergast. Photo: Morgan Piek

In their previous two games in Bloemfontein the Emerging Irish team beat the Pumas 36-24 and the Western Force 29-24.

The Cheetahs will now take a mandatory eight-week break before assembling for the EPCR Challenge Cup.

Scorers:

Cheetahs: Tries – Robert Hunt, Michael Annies 2, Corné Fourie Conv. – Ethan Wentzel 2

Emerging Ireland: Tries – Evan O’Connell, Andrew Osborne, Alex Soroka, Matthew Devine, Danny Sheahan Conv. – Sam Prendergast 2, Jack Murphy 2

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg