Hurricanes smash Cheetahs
The Hurricanes maintained their play-off hopes with a bonus-point 38-10 win over the Cheetahs in Kimberley on Saturday.
Last Updated: 26/04/08 4:39pm
The Hurricanes maintained their play-off hopes with a bonus-point 38-10 win over the Cheetahs in Kimberley on Saturday.
The visitors ruthlessly exploited some moments of madness from the home side in the first half to rack up a 21-10 lead.
With the Cheetahs breathlessly chasing the game, the Hurricanes sat back and waited for opportunities to press home the advantage after the break.
The Hurricanes move up to fifth in the table as a result of the win, pending the Stormers result later in the day.
However one-sided the result may seem, this was one not to take your eyes off for a second.
Right from the off, the Cheetahs counter-attacked from Cory Jane's clearing kick, making good ground up the left with some tidy handling, and Jeremy Thrush was caught offside at a tackle, allowing Conrad Barnard to give his team the lead with a penalty.
Indeed, the Cheetahs had by far the better of the first ten minutes. With Juan Smith and Duane Vermeulen both running and spoiling with gusto, the Hurricanes backs were forced into a series of handling errors, allowing the Cheetahs to build a platform.
That platform was undermined by poor support from the Cheetahs at the breakdowns: the first ten minutes was all about running and turnovers for both teams.
The Cheetahs would bash the ball up and make hard yards, but eventually lose it in contact. In contrast, the Hurricanes would counter, but somehow try to force one pass too many.
Ma'a Nonu knocked on trying to flick a scoring pass out of a tackle, while Zac Guildford put a foot in touch trying to round off a grubber kick. It was a case of a lot of bluster but no points.
That all changed after 20 minutes. Jason Eaton stole a line-out, and then two phases later took off from the back of a ruck, through some poor tackling, and under the posts.
As the Cheetahs opted to go straight on the attack from the restart, Rodney So'oialo intercepted a tackle offload and ran 60 metres to score. Piri Weepu converted both tries, and suddenly, the Hurricanes were 14-3 ahead.
The Cheetahs responded almost as instantly as the Hurricanes had notched their second - Smith tapped a free-kick, took the ball on once more, and then spread it to Barnard, who found Bosman, who found Vermeulen, who flipped out a terrific pass for Jongi Nokwe to finish in the left-hand corner.
Barnard brought the score back to 10-14 with the extras - two minutes before, he had missed a penalty.
It was a crazy decision that lost the Cheetahs the game. CJ van der Linde, already raising eyebrows by popping up in between the centres, tried to chip the onrushing opponents.
Thrush plucked the ball out of the air, set Scott Waldrom racing down the pitch, and he found Nonu on the switch for the third try, also under the posts. 10-21.
From the restart, Willie Ripia's chip had Conrad Smith and Jane combining to send Nonu away down the right, and only a desperate tackle saw the All Black into touch before the score.
The second half started no less breathlessly, but it was clear the Cheetahs had shot their bolt once Meyer Bosman had been halted in the right-hand corner. They certainly enjoyed far more possession, but had run out of ideas.
Scott Waldrom was denied by the TMO on the left, just losing the ball as he tried to stretch and ground it, and then Jane did notch one, finishing off a move down the left.
Waldrom was not to be denied, scoring the sixth from close quarters at the end, with Ripia converting for the final points of a thrilling contest.
