Seventh title heaven for Cheetahs as gutsy effort earns them Currie Cup success against Pumas

At the Free State Stadium, Mangaung

• The Cheetahs made the most of a World Cup-year Currie Cup when they beat the Pumas 25-17 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung on Saturday to clinch their seventh title.
• They scored three tries to one in the game where they were clearly the better side, while also snapping a two-game losing streak at home against the visitors.
• The end of the game was marred by an unnecessary pitch invasion as the Cheetahs won their third Currie Cup in a World Cup year to marry it with their 2007 and 2019 successes.

Another World Cup-year Currie Cup final led to another title success for the Cheetahs, who stayed in the game long enough and played well enough to beat the defending champions, the Pumas, 25-17 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung on Saturday.

In scoring three tries to one, the Cheetahs did the business to collect their seventh title and proved themselves kings of the domestic circuit.

The success should be sufficient for them to stake a claim for another opportunity to take part in the EPCR Challenge Cup, with the local tournament now clearly needing to be seen as a qualification pathway for the Currie Cup sides.

That could work against the Cheetahs in years where they don't win the tournament, but they did on a heady Saturday afternoon where they played in front of a crowd of 33 804 that was initially obedient, but disgraced themselves with an unnecessary pitch invasion at the end.

The game started off in a feverish atmosphere when an Airlink Boeing made two flyovers over the ground, leaving the three-quarter packed stadium startled in disbelief and happiness.

The plane flew over the stadium just after kick-off and the players were able to blank out an event that should have at least taken place before the game started. 

AS IT HAPPENED | Cheetahs v Pumas

It did add to the spectacle and so did the Harley Davidson bikes that formed a tunnel for the Cheetahs players, while a small tractor-driven carriage for the kids made a turn and quickly got off the field before the players came on.

Once the pre and early-match theatrics came and went, the players went about their playing business at a very high tempo.

There wasn't a lot of tactical ingenuity in the first 10 minutes, but the ideas from the teams to get the ball wide as quickly as possible were telling.

With the remnant heat of what was a pleasant day quickly dissipating by the 16:00 kick-off, exhaustion was the least of the player's concerns.

Where the teams couldn't get tries in the first 25 minutes, despite their endeavours, penalties were traded by flyhalves Tinus de Beer and Ruan Pienaar to level out the scores at 6-6.

The Cheetahs then took the game by the scruff of the neck to score the game's first try in the 29th minute through inside centre Reinhardt Fortuin.

The Cheetahs' forwards finally got a toehold in the game after early even exchanges, from where they earned a scrum penalty that was kicked to touch.

They mauled it slightly infield but where the forwards couldn’t worm their way over, Fortuin did, much to the rapturous applause of the crowd.

It took the visitors four minutes to fight back and score a try worthy of levelling the scores.

A neat crosskick from De Beer was well-caught by fullback Devon Williams, who held onto the ball long enough for the Cheetahs defence to come to him as moths do to light.

That allowed enough space for inside centre Ali Mgijima, who will be re-joining the Cheetahs next season, to canter over in the corner.

With both touchline conversions missed by Pienaar and De Beer, the scores were locked at 11-11, but there still was enough time for another try.

It came from Cheetahs wing Cohen Jasper in the 38th minute, who was at the end of a flowing backline move after a rolling maul sucked in the Pumas' defence to allow the Cheetahs to take an 18-11 half-time lead.

The Pumas aren’t a team that rolls over and dies, displaying their tenacity in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

They didn't succeed in breaking down the Cheetahs' defence, but two penalties in the 42nd and 49th minutes from De Beer narrowed the deficit to one.

The Cheetahs though muscled up, worked their up field and after dominating a short period of play, halfback Rewan Kruger, who was four years old when his half-back partner Pienaar dazzled at the 2002 Craven Week and for Grey College, dotted down in the left-hand corner.

This time, Pienaar made no mistake with the touchline conversion that moved the score to 25-17.

The eight-point gap meant the Pumas needed to score twice to keep themselves in the game, but they lost the kicking battle to the wily Pienaar.

The 39-year-old, who will stay at the Cheetahs for one more season, made sure the Cheetahs played most of the rugby in the Pumas' half.

Scoring chances were few and far between, but when they coughed up the ball, the Cheetahs showed enough desire on defence to keep the visitors at bay.

If they made mistakes, they were far enough to force the Pumas into kicking for poles and when De Beer missed a long-range 76th-minute penalty, the cheers from the fans was from deep within the pits of their stomachs.

They knew the visitors were close to shooting their bolt, especially with the Pumas forced to play from deep within their own half.

That proved to be unsuccessful as they conceded a scrum just past the halfway line, from where the fans stood up and screamed: 'Cheetahs, Cheetahs, Cheetahs.'

Those words will echo deep into the Mangaung night for even though the Currie Cup is seen as the flat ale in the sparkling champagne that is the United Rugby Championship and European tournaments, it still matters in this part of the world.

The end of the game was marred by unnecessary streakers, especially from adults, who may have had too much to drink.

It wasn't a great sight and the security guards were forced to form a perimeter around the players and the stage where they were going to celebrate their success.

Scorers:

Cheetahs 25 (18)

Tries: Reinhardt Fortuin, Cohen Jasper, Rewan Kruger

Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2)

Penalties: Pienaar (2)

Pumas 17 (11)

Try: Ali Mgijima

Penalties:  Tinus de Beer (4)