Rampant Cheetahs thump hapless Zebre

Bloemfontein - The Cheetahs remain unbeaten in 2019 after a dominant PRO14 victory over Italian side Zebre at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.

The Cheetahs ran in nine tries in a 61-28 victory. They led 26-7 at half-time.

The men from Bloemfontein are now unbeaten in three games in 2019.

However, they still have a lot of ground to make up and remain sixth in Conference A, with five wins from 13 games.

The Cheetahs were also dealt a blow late in the game when replacement lock Justin Basson received a red card for making contact with the neck area of a Zebre player at a ruck.

The Cheetahs' next game is at home against the Kings next Saturday (February 2). Zebre’s next game is at home against Irish side Leinster on Saturday, February 16.

Scorers:

Cheetahs

Tries: Rabs Maxwane, Malcolm Jaer, Sintu Manjezi, Abongile Nonkontwana, Ox Nche, Shaun Venter (2), Junior Pokomela, Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Conversions: Tian Schoeman (8)

Zebre

Tries: Paula Balekana, Johan Meyer, Apisai Tauyavuca, George Biagi
Conversions: Carla Canna (4)

Teams:

Cheetahs

15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Rabs Maxwane, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Tian Meyer (captain), 8 Gerhard Olivier, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Reinach Venter, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Justin Basson, 20 JP du Preez, 21 Niell Jordaan, 22 Shaun Venter, 23 Louis Fouche

Zebre

15 Francois Brummer, 14 Paula Balekana, 13 James Elliott, 12 Tommaso Boni, 1 Gabriele Di Giulio, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Joshua Renton, 8 Giovanni Licata, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Iacopo Bianchi, 5 George Biagi (captain), 4 Samuele Ortis, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Luhandre Luus, 1 Daniele Rimpelli

Substitutes: 16 Massimo Ceciliani, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Apisai Tauyavuca, 20 James Brown, 21 Riccardo Raffaele, 22 Maicol Azzolini, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti