Toyota Cheetahs 26
Connacht 25
Morgan Piek reports from Bloemfontein.
THE TOYOTA CHEETAHS flyhalf Niel Marais landed a last minute penalty on Saturday evening to cruelly deny Connacht a win in Bloemfontein during round 17 of the Guinness Pro14 on Saturday.
The Cheetahs edged the visitors 26-25 in a game that — as the score suggests — could have gone either, but ultimately proved a case of accepting an ugly victory rather than a good defeat for the hosts.
A brace of tries by winger Matt Healy was not enough to see Connacht the accolade of becoming just the second team in the history of the competition to upset the Cheetahs on home soil, which has become somewhat of a fortress.
Springbok flanker Uzair Cassiem opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he collected the ball at the breakdown and broke clean through five metres from the lead, with Marais slotting the conversion.
Minutes later he was on the mark again with the first of four penalties for the hosts to race into a 10-0 lead.
A good scrum in the 17th minute led to man of the match Healy flying over the first of his two tries. Marais sent another penalty through the uprights, before Healy completed his brace in the 21st minute.
A penalty apiece by Marais and Jack Carty saw the match at 16-15 in favour of the hosts at the half-time interval.
Carty handed the Connacht the lead three minutes into the second half with a penalty which gave the visitors the lead.
After relentless pressure from multiple phases and good ball retention, the Cheetahs defence finally cracked with Eoin Griffin dotting down under the sticks for a converted try to inch the scoreline into a 25-16 lead.
A few minutes later the Cheetahs replacement winger Rabs Maxwane rounded off for the hosts to keep their chances alive.
However the altitude started to take its toll on Connacht, but by the same token, the Cheetahs looked like they were also battling after spending three weeks in Wales and Scotland.
Repeated infringements saw the Cheetahs move into the Connacht 22, and the Springbok centre Francois Venter made the brave call to take a shot on goal for the winning score and confirm four points in the bag.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
This guy is completely overratted
@jay bernard: don’t know how he warrants a contract of that size given his achievements in the game. He needs to start scoring regularly especially if the Wissam Ben Yedder rumours are true. WBY is a real fox in the box, Deschamps really rates him.
Best goal tally for 21 and under in the EPL, La Liga & Seria A in what was a shocking season under two different managers. 200k going to 300k based on incentives. Manchester born and bred. He’ll turn out to be some player yet
An absolute joke.
It’s 200k a week max as per Simon Stone – reliable United journo
@Brian: and you think that even £200,000 is acceptable for a player that scored 10 league goals last season. He’s English!!! He has been overhyped and overrated since they Day he broke into the first team by the British press, £200,000 per week for a very average player that would be more suited to playing for a team like Newcastle, Everton or Southampton. Mid table player at best, that shouldn’t be earning anything over 100,000 never mind 200,000 or 300,000.
@Devilsavocado: And eventually he will be destroyed by the British press too, I wish Utd would sell him on now
Beans Beans Beans
@Alan Brazil: is all you eat. Stand well back!
The club is a circus. Run by clowns who aren’t football men
@munsterman: and if you look at the nonsense that ich bin Brendan has been scribbling up there, it seems they are supported by a few clowns as well…..
@Devilsavocado: haha! G!mp
@Ich bin brendan: come on,, seriously mate, you really don’t believe the nonsense that you were writing in your previous posts do you?? There isn’t a club that finished in the top 5 above Utd that the lad would get into as a first team player. Not a single club that will be in the champions league next year had a bit of interest in buying him, he’s at best a bench player for Utd, but a 200,000 a week bench player??? WTF is going on at Utd that they offered that much money to him?? Where else was he going to go, they easily could have halved that and even then he should still consider himself lucky to be wearing the Utd jersey,, come on, I can’t be the only one who sees this….
@Devilsavocado: quit looking for validation. I’ll correct myself in that he didn’t score v pool in their 3-1 spanking but everything stated is fact inc. turning the best rb inside out and scoring in every debut. Barcelona were being touted as making an official approach, how much of that is being true is as truthful to say not a single team were, it would take a team of that stature to pull a local lad away from his local team. Apart from Kane for Spurs there isn’t a top 5 team that would produce an academy player like him. 200,000K is daft money but that’s the state of the club atm, not many want the Glazers there but that’s what they’re working with. I’m delighted he’s there for another 4 yrs, he’s got the wage now it’s upto him to start earning it, I believe he will.
@Ich bin brendan: ok fair enough, you have your opinion on the matter and people that actually know a bit about football have there’s. Let’s be honest here, I doesn’t matter that your opinion is obviously that of a delusional fan that can’t look at things without your fan glasses on but that’s ok,, we will leave it there and I’ll let you get back to your colouring book and crayons, there’s a good boy,, don’t stay up to late… :) validate myself, ha ha ha ha ha..
@Devilsavocado: “that actually know a bit about football” you have me stumped, you’ve trouble validating your opinionated drivel. “Ha ha ha” like I said before, G!mp
He’s got to start delivering on his promise . A lot of cash for a man still not scoring regularly but he does have the potential to be an absolute world class player I just hope he does start getting 30 odd goals a season .
On his debut he’s scored 2 in the EPL, same in his Europa, 1 Champions league and on his derby debut. Also turned the best rb in the country inside out to score against their biggest rivals, with the golden glove winner in goal!
@Ich bin brendan: can throw in his debut in the EFL & FA Cup as well. So every cup comp available to him. Calling him over rated is being bias, he’s proven he’s capable, needs consistency with age.
Reminds me of Ian Rush
His nose is offside
Even as a man utd fan, I think he doesn’t deserve this, prove your worth then get the money, he didn’t prove anything last season to deserve half this money.