Cheetahs maul Sunwolves 47-7 in Tokyo

TOKYO: Flanker Uzair Cassiem scored two tries as the Cheetahs thrashed Japan's Sunwolves 47-7 in Tokyo on Saturday to post their third victory of the Super Rugby season.

Defeat by the South Africans left the Sunwolves with just a sole win from 12 matches this campaign -- a 21-20 home win over the Bulls last month -- and Sunwolves head coach Filo Tiatia blaming familiar shortcomings.

"If we'd taken our opportunities it would have been a different story," he told reporters.

"But it wasn't. In the last two games there's been a trend of conceding points when we need to concentrate. That's certainly one area we will try to rectify."

Cassiem crashed over in the 16th minute before loose forward Niell Jordaan added a second try just before halftime for the visitors.

When Niel Marais capped a fine move early after the restart, the writing was on the wall for the Sunwolves, who have won just two games since joining Super Rugby last season.

Sunwolves lock Sam Wykes broke a tackle to reduce the deficit to 19-7 on 47 minutes but Cassiem bulldozed over for this second try of the day to dash Sunwolves hopes of a comeback in front of a boisterous Tokyo crowd.

To add insult to injury for the home side, Cheetahs hooker Torsten Van Jaarsveld scored a fifth try for the bonus point before replacement back Tian Meyer and winger Sergeal Petersen iced a comfortable win.

Tiatia tried to put a positive spin on the result but it sounded like straw-clutching.

"It was 7-0 with about 32 minutes gone and if you watch that period of play, it could have swung either way," said the New Zealander.

"Obviously we want to keep improving," he added. "When you play at this level, when you play at this intensity, we just need to keep doing it and keep getting better."

Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith credited the Sunwolves defence for preventing a rout.

"Their defence was exceptional," he said. "We dominated territory and possession in the first half enormously but they managed to keep us out.

"The result was not a true reflection of the quality of the side we played today." - AFP

— AFP photo Cheetahs fullback Clayton Bloometjies (L) avoids a tackle during the Super Rugby match between the Sunwolves of Japan and the Cheetahs of South Africa at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo on May 27, 2017.