Cape Town — The Cheetahs produced a superb performance in wet weather to humiliate the hapless Lions 66-14 at Free State Stadium on Saturday.
The Cheetahs were totally dominant and their clinical play ensured that they put their chances to proper use:
The game was temporarily suspended for 30 minutes after lightening struck, but it didn’t deter the home side as they picked up right where they left off when play resumed.
The men from Bloem got their first try in the ninth minute when Malcolm Jaer went over in the corner for an unconverted try (5-0), and it didn’t take them long to get a second through Daniel Kasenda. Ruan Pienaar added the extras this time to take the score to 12-0 three minutes later.
They just kept coming with the tries, this time through Wilmar Arnoldi (17-0).
Play was suspended after the Cheetahs’ third try, and with the conditions being assessed, things improved just in time for the game to resume.
The Cheetahs wasted no time and ran in their fourth through Gideon van der Merwe (24-0), and around the half-hour mark, they went 31-0 up when they were awarded a penalty try.
The Lions finally got their first try when Jarod Cairns went over, and Tiaan Swanepoel made it a full-point try. Van der Merwe grabbed his brace on the stroke of half time to make the home side’s lead an even more commanding one (38-7).
The Cheetahs were simply unstoppable in a completely one-sided affair and nothing changed in the second half as they simply picked up where they left off before the break.
While the Lions got a try early in the second half, that proved to be all they could manage in a game in which the Cheetahs owned.
Not into was their running game effective, but they also used their set-piece well as they scored a few top maul tries. What made their performance even more impressive was how they played their part in a clean game given the conditions.
The Cheetahs ran in four more tries to completely annihilate the Johannesburg side, whose poor Currie Cup run continued.
Point scorers:
Cheetahs - 66: Tries: Malcolm Jaer, Daniel Kasenda (2), Wilmar Arnoldi, Gideon van der Merwe, Chucky van der Westhuizen, Beertjie van Vuuren, Jeandre Rudolph Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (3), Reinhardt Fortuin, Frans Steyn
Lions - 14: Tries: Jarod Cairns, Conversions: Tiaan Swanepoel (2)