Cheetahs snatch thrilling game from gutsy Lions

THE Lions collected themselves from the canvass a few times to render an edge-of-theseat experience to a match that had the hallmarks of being a lopsided affair.

In the end, though, the momentum of their best Super Rugby campaign helped propel the Cheetahs to a nervy win in their Currie Cup opener yesterday.

But they were made to sweat by the gutsy Lions, who rallied just before the break and twice in the second half to close the gap on the Cheetahs, as the visitors looked destined to disappear over the horizon.

The Cheetahs, particularly lock Lodewyk de Jager, centre Johann Sadie, scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and No 8 Philip van der Walt played with brio but the Cheetahswere at times the orchestrators of their own demise with an unusually high error rate.

That not only provided the Lions a lifeline but the opportunity to string together passages of play which helped keep them in touch on the scoreboard. Willie Britz and Derick Minnie and Marnitz Boshoff were superb in keeping their side in the match.

The Cheetahs were better organised and disciplined and looked to be in possession of the initiative but handling errors served to blight their performance before the break.

It was in that period the Lions seized the opportunity and a 10-point swing handed them the halftime lead even if the Cheetahs looked more likely to walk off with the spoils.

The pace and dexterity of their loose forwards meant the visitors produced interplay between backs and forwards far superior to what the Lions.

They were equally effective at close quarters. They held the ascendancy in the scrum before substitutions took effect, while their pick and drives inched away at the gainline and the Lions’ resolve.

Even more soul destroying for the irascible crowd was the sight of the Lions back pedalling amid a Cheetahs’ rolling maul that had its origins just outside the 22 and ended over the tryline in the 31st minute.

That however sparked the Lions to life and after some splendid build-up work centre Stokkies Hanekom ran onto the ball at pace for a converted try that levelled the score six minutes before the break.

The try scoring was opened in sensational fashion in the sixth minute however.

Johann Sadie’s diagonal chip seemed to be covered by the ambling Lions’ hooker Martin Bezuidenhout who got the fright of his life when Robert Ebersohn appeared from nowhere to snatch the ball away and raced clear.