The Free State Cheetahs had to fight for the spoils of victory at Wellington on Saturday to stay in the hunt for Currie Cup glory after coming from behind to beat Boland 29-21 in the final quarter of a lively premier-division contest.
Boland led 13-10 at the break.
The Cheetahs looked a shadow of the side that beat the Sharks at King’s Park a fortnight ago and never settled against a Cavaliers side prepared to run the ball at every opportunity from all angles of the field.
Ultimately, though, the Bloemfontein side ruled the aerial battle for the line-outs, with lock Boela du Plooy in the middle and Springbok flank Juan Smith at the tail, robbing Boland repeatedly in this vital first-phase facet.
The Cheetahs started well enough with the scent of blood in their nostrils and looked well on their way early on when Smith found space out wide to put Eddie Fredericks through for the first try of the game.
But as the half wore on, the Bloemfontein side wilted and it was Boland who finished the first 40 looking stronger and leading 13-10 after scoring an audacious try two minutes before the break.
It was a high-risk manoeuvre when centre Jacques Badenhorst opted to run the ball out of the Cavaliers 22, but it reaped handsome rewards when he beat the Cheetahs midfield and catapulted into Free State’s half.
Number eight Francois Prinsloo kept the move going, flying up in support of the centre, and found flank Henley du Plessis, who charged straight through Willem de Waal and Anton Pitout to score under the poles.
In the second half, Boland continued where they had left off, keeping sustained pressure on Free State’s defence with a series of battering ram offensives on the try line.
Eventually they scored their third try with a subtle chip kick from left wing Renfred Deysel into the grateful arms of right wing Rayno Benjamin.
With a 21-13 lead and time beginning to run out, things were looking ominous for Free State. At this juncture, however, wily Cheetahs coach Rassie Erasmus made a series of substitutions that inspired Free State’s fight back.
Into the battle came Springbok CJ van der Linde for Jannie du Plessis at tighthead and on to the bench went De Waal and Anton Pitout, with centre Sinethemba Zweni switched to left wing and Chris Burger on at number 13 to stabilise the midfield.
Free State had battled to break down Boland’s disciplined defence until substitute flyhalf Meyer Bosman chose guile, in the form of a well-weighted grubber, to catapult Fredericks over for his second try.
A further penalty by Meyer made the win safe for the Cheetahs, but at the final whistle Boland would have felt that they were more responsible for losing the game than Free State were for winning it.
They out-scored the Bloemfontein side by three tries to one, but fullback Justin Peach missed four kicks for poles (three conversions and a penalty) — nine vital points that not only denied the wine farmers victory, but also a bonus point. — Sapa