Cheetahs scorch Boland

Aug 8 • General News • 1670 Views • Comments Off on Cheetahs scorch Boland

The Cheetahs accelerated in the second half, racing to a 44-16 victory over Boland in Wellington on Saturday.

Boland finished as runners-up to Western Province in the qualifying tournament to book their place in the Premier Division for the first time since 2009, but any hope of beginning of the Currie Cup season with a win disappeared when the Cheetahs opened their stride in the second half.

The two sides were neck and neck in the first 40, with the visitors holding a slender 10-9 advantage at the break. But Cheetahs coach Franco Smith must have had a stern talking to his side as they came out firing after the restart, blitzing Boland with four tries in the second half.

The bonus-point win sees the Cheetahs end the first round in first place on the overall standings with a superior points-difference to the Sharks and Blue Bulls, who beat the Pumas and WP respectively.

The Cheetahs took an early lead as flyhalf Fred Zeilinga kicked a penalty and then converted Sergeal Petersen’s try, while the boot of fullback Nico Scheepers kept Boland in contention in the early exchanges. But that all changed in the second stanza when Raymond Rhule and then William Small-Smith scored in quick succession, followed by five-pointers from Shaun Venter and Francois Venter – all converted by Zeilinga.

Boland’s reply was restricted to a try from Danwel Demas, with Scheepers adding the extras.

Cheetahs prop Tshego Nché was named man of the match for his set-piece contribution, playing both sides of the front row, and his work rate in general play – he made 95 metres on eight carries and grounded five runners.