Sergeal Petersen scored twice as the Free State Cheetahs eased to a 44-24 bonus-point win over Griquas in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The hosts outscored Griquas five tries to three to return to winning ways after their 32-24 defeat against the EP Kings last weekend. The result sees the Cheetahs overtake the Sharks and Pumas to fourth position on the Currie Cup log.
Tries by wingers Raymond Rhule and Petersen either side of a converted effort by Ruhan Nel for Griquas, pushed the Cheetahs out to a 14-7 lead after just 16 minutes. Petersen streaked through the defence soon after for his second of the afternoon.
Fred Zeilinga nailed the conversion and a penalty, but Griquas centre Clinton Swart popped over a three-pointer of his own that saw them trail 24-10 at half-time.
The Cheetahs added 10 points to their tally at the restart, with a penalty and converted try by Shaun Venter, but Griquas stayed in touch by crossing over for two touchdowns by Nel and captain Tian Meyer.
Finally, Zeilinga nailed his third penalty to seal the victory before replacement Zee Mkhabela scored the Cheetahs' fifth try to complete the rout.
FS Cheetahs – Tries: Raymond Rhule, Sergeal Petersen (2), Shaun Venter, Mthokozisi Mkhabela. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (5). Penalties: Zeilinga (3).
Griquas – Tries: Ruhan Nel (2), Tian Meyer. Conversions: Clinton Swart (3). Penalty: Swart.
FS Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Rayno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Gerhard Olivier, 5 Francois Uys (c), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 BG Uys. Subs: 16 Theunis Nieuwoudt, 17 Neil Rautenbach, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Freddy Ngoza, 20 Zee Mkhabela, 21 Tertius Kruger, 22 Sias Ebersohn.
Griquas – 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Ruhan Nel, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Jacquin Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer (c), 8 Carel Greeff, 7 Jonathan Adendorf, 6 RJ Liebenberg, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Jaco Nepgen, 3 Stephan Kotzé, 2 AJ le Roux, 1 Steph Roberts. Subs: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Jonathan Janse van Rensburg, 19 Wendal Wehr, 20 Dylon Frylink, 21 Gouws Prinsloo, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa.
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
