In a game of two contrasting halves, the home team ran in three tries during the final 40 minutes to maintain their unbeaten home record against the Cheetahs with a 26-10 victory, overcoming a 10-5 deficit at halftime.

The defeat proved costly for the Cheetahs, who lost centre Ali Mgijima and flankers Gideon van der Merwe and Oupa Mohoje to injuries within the first 20 minutes. Mgijima is suspected to have sustained a concussion following a high-impact tackle, while Mohoje appears to have suffered a broken collarbone or shoulder injury. Van der Merwe was stretchered off with a leg injury.

Ruben de Haas scored his try. Photo: Cheetahs

Cardiff opened the scoring with Welsh winger Josh Adams darting over for a try, but the Cheetahs responded through a converted try by Ruben de Haas. Flyhalf Ethan Wentzel added a penalty shortly before halftime, giving the visitors a 10-5 lead at the break.

The Cheetahs dominated much of the first half but failed to capitalise on their opportunities, struggling to convert entries into Cardiff's 22-meter area into points. In contrast, Cardiff capitalised effectively during the second half.

Left-winger Tom Bowen crossed the try line for Cardiff early in the second half. A penalty try and a second score by Adams, earning him a brace, secured the bonus point for the home side. Meanwhile, the Cheetahs struggled to find their rhythm after halftime, plagued by handling errors and repeated penalties that allowed Cardiff to pull away.

Cheetahs coach Izak van der Westhuizen lamented the impact of the early injuries, which disrupted their game plan and forced substitutions earlier than intended.

“We had a good first half and created numerous opportunities, but we failed to convert them into points,” Van der Westhuizen said. “The early injuries in the first half forced us to use our bench players sooner than planned, which made things tough in the second half.

“We also gave away too many penalties as we became desperate to regain possession. That hurt us, as we didn’t have as much impact from the bench later in the game.

Gideon van der Merwe. Photo: Cheetahs

“However, I’m proud of the massive effort from everyone who played. You can see the difference between teams that compete regularly at this level and those still adapting. We have many young players who can learn from this experience, and I believe we’ll be better in the games ahead.”

The Cheetahs' next match is on 12 January against Zebre at the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Scorers:

Cardiff Rugby: Tries – Josh Adams 2, Tom Bowen, Penalty Try Conversions – Callum Sheedy 2

Cheetahs: Tries - Ruben de Haas Conversion – Ethan Wentzel Penalty–   Wentzel

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg