JOHANNESBURG – Defence was certainly not the name of the game as the Free State Cheetahs and Sigma Lions ran themselves ragged and into a draw in their Currie Cup encounter in Bloemfontein on Wednesday night.
It might have been breathless stuff, but both teams, especially the Lions will rue not claiming an important victory after arguably finishing the stronger team. The match saw 12 tries scored but even though it made for exciting viewing, the overall performances of both teams will not have instilled much confidence going forward.
To put it simply, both side's tackling was poor. And it characterizes the match for the most part from the first minute to the last. The maul defence was also not up to par, nor was the breakdown work which allowed both sides to play quick ball unencumbered by any disruptive shenanigans. There were 10 - yes, 10 - lead changes during the encounter.
The Cheetahs scythed through the visitors in the opening moments and were in hot form in executing two beautiful tries through captain Ruan Pinaar and David Brits in the first 12 minutes. The outside centre's try was especially brilliant as the hosts affected a brilliant turnover and immediately attacked the Lions defence with purposeful running and sweeping passes.
It resulted in Brits diving for the line, body in the air, torso and all hanging across the touchline, Stean Piennar desperately trying to deny him, as he slammed the ball over the whitewash in the corner.
But three tries through Ruhan Straeuli, Man of the Match Rabz Maxwane and Jaco Visagie in six minutes by the Lions overturned that early 15-0 lead and it became apparent that the team that would defend the best in the match would be the victor. Ultimately, neither team could obtain that specific pressure.
Up until that moment, both teams had been guilty of defending with little intent, or trusting in their defensive systems - a concern that has plagued both coaching boxes throughout the season - and continued right to the final whistle.
There were gaps aplenty to exploit, and heaps of space to run into with both sides falling off tackles. The Lions did tighten up as the half came to a close, even though they were down a man after Sibusiso Sangweni was binned and it was that action, as much as their try-scoring exploits that kept them in the encounter.
Moreover, neither scrum failed to make the desired impact in the first stanza, the Cheetahs' Cameron Dawson putting heaps of pressure on Springbok Ruan Dreyer, while Sti Sithole battled to find consistency in his hits, although he did win an important contest late in the half.
A fractured second half, heavy in try-scoring, but once again lacking in defensive quality saw the Cheetahs' Louis van der Westhuizen, Malcolm Jaer and Andisa Ntsila and Stean Pienaar, Burger Odendaal and Maxwane of the Lions trade tries in a frantic period of play.
With the clock ticking down, it was a good old fashioned scrum that turned the momentum the way of the Lions as replacement Carlu Sadie overturned possession to earn a penalty on the half way line and then secured a second penalty in front of the poles. The Lions opted for a shot at goal to level the scores 44-44 when turning the screw might have been the better option.
It was the last scoring action of the match as fumbles by the Lions and then the Cheetahs ended the game in an unsatisfactory manner, and with the defensive coaches of either side most definitely fuming.
Free State Cheetahs (23) 44: Tries: Pienaar, Brits, Barry, Van der Westhuizen, Jaer, Ntsila; Conversions: Pienaar (4); Penalties: Pienaar (2)
Sigma Lions (17) 44: Tries: Straeuli, Maxwane (2), Visagie, Pienaar, Odendaal; Conversions: Hendrikse (4); Penalty: Hendrikse (2); Yellow Card: Sangweni (30)
IOL Sport