Free State flyhalf Willem de Waal was the hero of the Cheetahs’ 26-20 victory over Western Province (WP) at Newlands on Saturday where his shrewd tactical boot condemned the home side to their second straight defeat.
De Waal, who had a shocker in the Cheetahs’ last match, which they lost by one-point in George, bounced back with a personal tally of 16 points including two dropped goals that torpedoed WP and catapulted Free State to second spot on the Currie Cup log.
But it was De Waal’s clever kicking that kept Province under pressure deep in their own half in the second half as they failed to adapt from last week’ s lesson learned at Ellis Park, where Province were also beaten in the territorial battle.
Free State were not the better side, but they were the smarter of the two and De Waal was the architect of their victory with a towering up-and-under that bounced wickedly for Eddie Fredericks to score their second try with 15 minutes to play.
That gave Free State a nine-point lead and although WP were able to reduce the deficit to six with a Gareth Wright penalty with eight minutes to play, Free State controlled the game to win with relative ease at the final whistle.
Early in the game Free State showed some slick hands and put flank Hendro Scholtz over in the corner, only to have the try disallowed by Andre Watson for a double movement.
The Cheetahs were initially playing a high-tempo game to try to unlock WP’s defence, but after a lineout in their 22 it was WP captain Corne Krige who broke free from the maul to scramble and score the first try of the game.
In the first half the contest swung like a pendulum and Free State hit back with an up-and-under that Province fullback Lean van Dyk allowed to bounce in the 22 with disastrous consequences.
In the ensuing passage of play, the Cheetahs whipped the ball wide for flank Kaunda Ntunja to score a try and gave the visitors a six-point lead after De Waal had kicked the conversion from the touchline.
But WP, unveiling an audacious penchant for adventure, hit back by running the ball from behind their own tryline in a bizarre sequence of play culminating in Egon Seconds scoring his fourth try of this year’s Currie Cup with a trademark chip and regather over the Cheetahs’ first line of defence.
And so it was that WP led by one point at half-time.
Two minutes into the second half De Waal snatched the lead back for Free State with a dropped goal. Seven minutes later De Waal kicked another, this time from near the 10-yard line, and suddenly Free State were in the ascendancy.
They never lost their rhythm while WP stumbled from one mistake to the next. — Sapa