Stuttering WP lose again
The final score flattered Western Province in the end as the Cheetahs came away with a deserved 32-25 Currie Cup victory at Newlands.
|||The final score flattered Western Province in the end as the Cheetahs came away with a deserved 32-25 Currie Cup victory at Newlands on Friday night.
Man-of-the-Match Fred Zeilinga’s flawless kicking performance, with an eight out of eight return for a 22-point haul, condemned Province to their second consecutive defeat going down to the Bulls two weeks ago.
But while Zeilinga put the points on the board, it was the Cheetahs’ greater hunger and cohesion which proved to be the difference despite WP’s early 10-0 lead.
Things were looking good at that point as Jano Vermaak broke through the Cheetahs, with the impressive Huw Jones showing tremendous speed to get away and score.
But WP’s forwards battled to win the edge upfront as the likes of Charles Marais, Reniel Hugo, Paul Schoeman and Uzair Cassiem played with much greater urgency than their more fancied opponents.
Province’s lineout fell apart in the second half, with up to four lineouts going astray on their own throw – with one particularly bad miss coming inside the Cheetahs 22.
Even though Province were 18-13 up at halftime – following Kobus van Wyk’s try after Jones found space on the right – they weren’t able to secure enough possession for their backs to attack from in the second half, with WP’s scrum also coming under pressure.
A lot of the difficulties appeared to be due to an ankle injury sustained by hooker Scarra Ntubeni, who had his right ankle strapped up instead of being replaced. This was probably because WP had a newcomer on the bench in the former EP Kings No 2 Martin Ferreira after injury sidelined Chad Solomon earlier in the week.
But apart from the lineout being dysfunctional, there were too many defensive lapses as well, with Rynhardt Elstadt’s missed tackle on rugged Cheetah centre Nico Lee leading directly to a decisive try to captain Tian Meyer immediately after halftime. That score put Free State 20-18 ahead, and they never relinquished that lead.
Even when WP left wing Leolin Zas brought his team back to within a point at 26-25 with 15 minutes to go – following a snipe from Godlen Masimla off the back of a lineout – the home side again conceded too many penalties at the breakdowns.
Zeilinga slotted two further late penalties, while his tactical boot also drove Province back into their own half.
Replacement fullback Cheslin Kolbe had one dazzling run that had the Newlands crowd on their feet, but he was never put into space by his inside backs and had to try to create magic on his own.
But the Cheetahs defence held firm, and their rush defence saw Kobus van Wyk knocking on at the 10m line to end the game.
Points-Scorers
Western Province – Tries: Huw Jones, Kobus van Wyk, Leolin Zas. Conversions: Brandon Thomson (1), Robert du Preez (1). Penalties: Brandon Thomson (2).
Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Nico Lee, Tian Meyer. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (2). Penalties: Fred Zeilinga (6).
ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za
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