Cheetahs keep Currie Cup hopes alive with big win over the Sharks

Using the monster boot of centre Frans Steyn to back up their scrum dominance the Cheetahs showcased their Currie Cup intentions by downing the Sharks 37-10 in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

Steyn kicked 17 points and the comprehensive win earned the Cheetahs a valuable five points. They scored four tries to the one to bag the bonus point and ensure they stay in touch with the front-runners in the competition. This was the second straight loss for the men from Durban.

The Cheetahs, desperate to win to stay alive in the competition, were a fired up unit and they simply outplayed the visitors.

With departing prop Boan Venter leading the way at scrum-time, the Cheetahs got on top of the Sharks and scored three first-half tries against the one to lead 27-10 at the break, with Steyn adding the extras.

The only points in the second half came via a late converted try by Venter and a Steyn penalty.

Indiscipline however set the Cheetahs back, with both wing Rosko Specman and Venter getting yellow cards, reducing the home team to playing with 13 men for 20 minutes.

Cheetahs lock and captain Carl Wegner crashed over early on but his try was quickly cancelled out by Sharks wing Yaw Penxe, who scored an intercept try to leave the score at 7-7.

The Cheetahs used their scrum dominance to drive hooker Marnus van der Merwe over for their second try and a lead of 14-7 and after Steyn had put his side 20-7 up with two further penalties, the Sharks were up against it.

Scorers

Cheetahs: Tries: Carl Wegner, Marnus van der Merwe, Rhyno Smith, Boan Venter, conversions: Frans Steyn (4), penalties: Steyn (3).

Sharks: Try: Yaw Penxe, conversion: Curwin Bosch, penalty: Bosch.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.