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Cheetahs thrash Leopards

Bloemfontein - The Free State Cheetahs returned to winning ways as they crushed the Platinum Leopards 57-0 in their Currie Cup Premier Division match at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The home side banished the painful memory of their narrow 30-26 to the Lions in their previous match as they ran in nine tries with right wing Philip Snyman grabbing a brace.

The Cheetahs’ performance was by no means perfect, especially in the first half when they battled to maintain much momentum thanks to a plethora of handling errors, but they never looked like losing the game to a Leopards outfit that has now lost all seven of their matches this season.

However, the Leopards did not help their cause as they had two players sin-binned with eighthman Riaan Swanepoel and wing Deon Scholtz both falling foul of referee Jason Jaftha

The visitors held their own for the first 10 minutes of the match as they dominated possession but failed to find the key with which to unlock the Cheetahs’ defence.

It took the home side until the 12th minute before they broke the deadlock when hooker Adriaan Strauss rumbled over for the first try of the contest.

Six minutes later loosehead prop Coenie Oosthuizen’s marvellous season continued as the burly front-ranker dotted down for his fifth try in this year’s Currie Cup.

The Cheetahs were slowly getting into their rhythm and their third try duly arrived in the 34th minute thanks to a superb piece of interplay between the Ebersohn brothers as flyhalf Sias provided the scoring pass for Robert, with the outside centre scoring between the posts.

With time running out in the half flank Hendro Scholtz went over in the corner for the bonus-point try as the home side went to the break holding a comfortable 24-point lead.

The hosts began the second half in impressive fashion as they scored from the kick-off with lock Francois Uys crashing over for a five-pointer.

Five minutes later Philip van der Walt added his name to the growing list of try-scorers before Snyman scored the try of the match.
In the 54th minute Snyman bumped off two defenders before diving over in the right-hand corner despite the attentions of the Leopards’ cover defence.

With 12 minutes left in the contest Snyman went over in the corner once again to raise the half-century of points for the home side before replacement prop WP Nel wrapped up the scoring after the hooter had sounded.

Inside centre Meyer Bosman enjoyed a successful evening with the boot as he slotted six conversions after taking over the kicking duties from Sias Ebersohn, who had missed a conversion and a penalty early in the contest.

Scorers:

Vodacom Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Philip Snyman (2), Adriaan Strauss, Coenie Oosthuizen, Robert Ebersohn, Hendro Scholtz, Francois Uys, Philip van der Walt, WP Nel;

Conversions: Meyer Bosman (6).

Teams:

Free State Cheetahs:
15. Hennie Daniller, 14. Philip Snyman, 13. Robert Ebersohn, 12. Meyer Bosman, 11. Jongi Nokwe, 10. Sias Ebersohn, 9. Tewis de Bruyn, 8. Ashley Johnson, 7. Christoffel Philippus Van der Walt, 6. Hendro Scholtz, 5. Waltie Vermeulen, 4. Francois Uys, 3. Kobus Calldo, 2. Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1. Coenie Oosthuizen

Replacements:
16. Skipper Badenhorst, 17. Willem Petrus Nel, 18. Kabamba Floors, 19. David de Villiers, 20. Tertius Carse, 21. Louis Strydom, 22. Riaan Smit

Leopards:
15. Jan Van Zyl, 14. Deon Scholtz, 13. Jovan Bowles, 12. Walter Venter, 11. Dumisani Matyeshana, 10. Neill Jacobs, 9. Michael Bondesio, 8. Riaan Swanepoel, 7. Wilhelm Koch (captain), 6. Christo van Niekerk, 5. Edrich Linde, 4. Bradley Peter Mockford, 3. Os Van der Walt, 2. Gavin Williamson, 1. Bennie Geldenhuys Uys

Replacements:
16. Pellow van der Westhuizen, 17. Johan Coetzee, 18. Anthonie Johannes Gronum, 19. RW Kember, 20. Theo Clyde van Wyk, 21. Clayton Durand, 22. Shuaib Samaai

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