The Queensland Reds secured a convincing 31-10 victory over the Cheetahs in their Super 14 match on Friday.
The Reds could have punished the struggling Cheetahs even more but dew and rain made the ball slippery and as a result many of their promising moves died due to handling errors.
Despite the difficult conditions, Will Genia, Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane all scored tries to frustrate the Cheetahs.
The result moved the Reds, who are fifth, to 19 points while Cheetahs are 11th with nine points.
The Cheetahs opened the scoring in the third minute with a Meyer Bosman penalty from just inside the Reds half but the tide then began to turn as the visitors dictated terms with strong running from their forwards and slick play by halfbacks Genia and Quade Cooper.
Reds loose forwards Scott Higginbotham and Leroy Houston created the space for Genia to dart over for the opening try in the 12th minute.
The Reds had to content themselves with just two more penalties in the first half as they struggled to regain momentum after Cooper was shown the yellow card for tripping centre Robert Ebersohn inside the Cheetahs’ 22.
Cheetahs eighthman Ashley Johnson gave the home side a 10-8 lead with a try from a scrum close to the line. As the break neared, Cooper, back on the field for four minutes, slotted a penalty to restore the Reds’s lead.
The home side appeared to run out of steam in the second half as wing Hynes sneaked in to score a second try for the Reds and Cooper’s conversion opened a healthy 21-10 lead.
Cheetahs prop WP Nel was denied a try by television match official in the 50th minute when it appeared he had grounded the ball over the line.
Cooper kicked a third penalty and centre Ioane, who gave an inspired display in midfield, then crashed over for a try in the closing stages. – Reuters