Cheetahs claim valuable Leinster scalp

Cape Town - The Cheetahs claimed a valuable PRO14 scalp when they beat Irish side Leinster 38-19 (half-time 19-5) in Bloemfontein on Friday night.

The hosts ran in four tries via centre William Small-Smith, hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld, prop Ox Nche and wing Luther Obi.

Replacement Obi’s try came via an intercept on the stroke of full-time which gave the Cheetahs try-scoring bonus-point.

Leinster replied with a hat-trick from left wing Barry Daly, but were behind the eight-ball throughout.

Four penalties from Cheetahs flyhalf Ernst Stapelberg also proved vital in the final outcome.

After the Cheetahs' lack of defensive organisation in the opening defeats in Ireland by Ulster and Munster, Leinster were favourites to win but the PRO14 newcomers proved a vastly different proposition on home territory.

It was the Cheetahs' second win in a row, having beaten Italian side Zebre 54-39, while Leinster suffered their first defeat.

In next weekend's action, the Cheetahs host Welsh side Ospreys (Friday, September 29 - 17:00), while Leinster entertain Scottish side Edinburgh on the same day (20:35).

Scorers:

Cheetahs

Tries: William Small-Smith, Torsten Van Jaarsveld, Ox Nche, Luther Obi
Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg (3)
Penalties: Stapelberg (4)

Leinster

Tries: Barry Daly (3)
Conversions: Ross Byrne (2)

Teams:

Cheetahs

15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Rosco Specman, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Oupa Mohoje, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Nico Lee, 23 Luther Obi

Leinster

15 Joey Carbery, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Noel Reid, 12 Isa Nacewa (captain), 11 Barry Daly, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Mick Kearney, 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Cian Healy

Substitutes: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Cathal Marsh , 23 Rory O’Loughlin