Cheetahs ground Falcons in 10-try rout

The Cheetahs went past 50 points for the second successive weekend as they recorded a 66-9 victory over the Falcons in a 10-try rout at the Bosman Stadium, in Brakpan, on Friday night.

Points machine: Willem de Waal

It was a victory that not only once again showed up the chasm between Super 14 and Vodacom Cup sides (the Falcons are the current Vodacom Cup champions), but also showed why the Cheetahs are regarded as the favourites to retain the Currie Cup title they won in such impressive fashion last year.

Ten tries to none says it all.

The Cheetahs were simply too strong, too quick, too composed and generally better equipped than the Falcons. The home team tries bravely and enjoyed small pockets of competitive rugby, but for most of the game they were reduced to a mere defensive unit ... unfortunately not a very effective one, since they failed too often to plug all the gaps.

The Cheetahs ran onto the field with regular captain Hendro Scholtz in the line-up, that despite reports from the team management earlier in the week that he had been ruled out by a groin injury.

It may have been his presence that sparked the Cheetahs in the early stages, but they certainly looked the livelier of the two sides and had the Falcons under constant pressure.

The Cheetahs' tactics were very simplistic, testing the shaky looking Falcons back three with some high kicks and then from line-outs launching maul after maul.

It worked a treat and after five minutes of constant pressure the Cheetahs were rewarded when De Waal slotted the first penalty of the night.

The Falcons soon levelled when Louis Strydom slotted a penalty from inside his own half, about 55 metres, to make it 3-all.

But the Cheetahs continued to play most of the rugby and they also scored the first try - a great chip-and-chase by De Waal, who collected his own kick inside the Falcons ingoal area. The call went to the TMO, but he ruled that the try was legal. De Waal couldn't add the extras.

The Falcons finally found some rhythm and were rewarded with a couple of penalties within striking distance - the first fell short and the second was slotted by Strydom.

It was still the Cheetahs who showed greater enterprise and they were soon rewarded for their endeavours with a great try by flank Darron Nell. It started deep inside Cheetahs territory, with the ball going through the hands swiftly to the left wing, until the cover blocked their way. They smartly switched direction and the ball again went quickly through the hands, with the captain, Scholtz, giving the final pass to fellow loose forward Nell. The conversion was again wide.

The Falcons, who had to do lots of tackling and live off scraps of possession the entire first half, continued to rely on the boot of Strydom for points - the fly-half slotting a sweetly struck drop-goal in the 27th minute to keep his side in touch at 13-9.

But another De Waal penalty was followed by another great piece of inventive Cheetahs play.

It involved some great interplay between the forwards, before Nell gave a neat little inside pass to scrum-half Michael Claassens, who scored. De Waal's kicking woes continued, but the Cheetahs held a comfortable 21-9 lead.

The final act of the half, right on the final whistle, saw De Waal stroll over for his second try - after a fine show-and-go from a solid Cheetahs scrum. De Waal slotted his first conversion of the night and the Cheetahs went into the half-time break with a handy 28-9 lead and the bonus point already secured.

It took the Cheetahs less than two minutes from the second half restart to score their first try, with JW Jonker going over after another move which saw the Cheetahs using their superior passing skills and greater speed to beat the over-stretched Falcons defence. Again De Waal failed to add the conversion, but at 33-9 it was turning into a big rout.

The Falcons' woes were compounded soon afterwards when their fullback Jan Cloete, one of the few players who managed to keep his composure in the home side, popped his knee cap while attempting a clearance. The freak accident happened with no Cheetah player within 10 metres of him. He was helped from the field and the Falcons' heads dropped even further.

The Falcons had their moments and on occasion came close to the Cheetahs' line, but they lacked the composure to finish off the opportunities they created.

But the Cheetahs, who continued to enjoy a surfeit of the possession, seemed to also lose their composure as they became a bit over-elaborate.

It was more than 20 minutes between the Cheetahs first and second tries in this half.

But the second score was worth waiting for, a real gem. From another good maul, replacement scrum-half Falie Oelschig broke down the blindside, offloaded to De Waal, who times his pass to Giscard Pieters to perfection. The wing strolled over for the try. Meyer Bosman took this shot at goal and slotted it for a 40-9 lead.

Within minutes Pieters scored again, with some more great hands putting him in the clear. With Bosman having left the field straight after his conversion, De Waal again took over the kicking and this time he found the target as the score moved on to 47-9.

Lock Rory Duncan scored the next try as the rout continued and Pieters completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute, with De Waal slotting both conversions as the Cheetahs moved into the 60-point range.

The Cheetahs completed the rout when Philip Burger scored in the 80th minute and De Waal sealed his roller coaster evening by missing the conversion.

The scorers:

For the Falcons:
Pens: Strydom 2
DG: Strydom

For the Cheetahs:
Tries: De Waal 2, Nell, Claassens, Jonker, Pieters 3, Duncan, Burger
Cons: De Waal 4, Bosman
Pens: De Waal 2

Teams:

Medicover Falcons: 15 Jan Cloete, 14 Brendan April, 13 Sam Willard, 12 Hanno Coetzee, 11 Riaan Viljoen, 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Michael Vermaak, 7 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 6 Piet Krause (captain), 5 Nico Luus, 4 Ryan Strudwick, 3 Attie Pienaar, 2 Frik Venter, 1 Zane Killian.
Replacements: 16 Hercules Jansen van Vuuren, 17 Piet Grobler, 18 Dries van Schalkwyk, 19 Dewald Senekal, 20 Morné Adams, 21 Dean Okkers, 22 Pieter Spaumer.

Vodacom Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Giscard Pieters, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Gavin Passens, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Ryno van der Merwe, 7 Darron Nell, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 Rory Duncan, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Rich Verster, 1 Ollie le Roux (captain).
Replacements: 16 Jaco du Toit, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Corniel van Zyl, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Falie Oelschig, 21 Dale Heidtmann, 22 Philip Burger.

Referee: Craig Joubert (KwaZulu Natal)
Touch judges: Johann Meuwesen (Eastern Province), Mandla Dakuse (Border)
Television match official: Shawn Veldsman (Boland)