Munier Hartzenberg scored one of the Cheetahs' tries against Pau. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
The Cheetahs suffered the first defeat of their Challenge Cup campaign after Pau scored a late try to seal a hard fought victory in Amsterdam on Sunday.
English scrumhalf Dan Robson scored a 74th-minute try to help Pau seal a 33-20 victory and hand the Cheetahs a first loss of the season at the sold-out NCRA Stadium.
It was the French outfit’s first-ever win against the Cheetahs after suffering home and away defeats to the Bloemfontein side last season.
The win saw Pau resurrect their hopes of finishing in the top four of Pool 1 and qualifying for the round of 16.
Meanwhile, defeat for the Cheetahs means that Hawies Fourie’s side has temporarily surrendered first place in the pool to the Sharks, trailing their fellow South Africans by three points going into the final round.
Both team’s scored three tries — the Cheetahs’ five-pointers coming from Munier Hartzenberg, Louis van der Westhuizen and Jeandre Rudolph.
The Cheetahs will travel to France to take on Oyonnax in round four next weekend, while the Sharks will be in Wales facing Dragons.
This story first appeared on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission. For the original story click here.
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