Cheetahs edge Lions in Bloem thriller
Currie Cup champions!: Orange is the colour in South Africa
The Free State Cheetahs won the Absa Currie Cup for a third successive year when they edged the Lions 20-18 in a thrilling Final in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
It is an amazing run for Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské, who like his predecessor Rassie Erasmus won the most coveted domestic prize in South African rugby in his first season as head coach. Ironically Drotské captained the team to victory when Erasmus was in his first year as Currie Cup coach in 2005.
What a great occasion! What a great match! What drama!
The occasion, the match and the drama were worthy of the best in Currie Cup history. That 76th minute conversion by Cheetahs fly-half Willem de Waal, to win the match, will go down amongst the greatest moments in its history.
Not just the conversion but the whole brave fightback of the Cheetahs who came from 18-6 down with 16 minutes to go to squeeze into the lead with four minutes to go.
The 12 minutes in between were minutes of exhausting tension just for those watching.
The Lions were not done and attacked but eventually the clock ran out of painful seconds, the siren sounded and Falie Oelschig hoofed the ball into the stand and the Cheetahs into victory while glee shouted itself hoarse in the Bloemfontein air. The players hugged and hugged.
Speeches followed, presentations were made and then the cup was held aloft in triumph. Fists were raised in triumph. Voices were raised in cheering shouts.
Even Naka Drotské came close to smiling.
It was a great moment.
Bless the Lions whose effort was magnificent. At one stage they looked set to win, but eventually two sneaky scores squeezed them out. First sturdy Tewis de Bruyn managed to hold off Ernst Joubert's desperate tackle to stay inside the cornerpost for long enough to score - right in the corner.
From the corner, on the wrong side for a left-footer, De Waal kicked. It was outside the line of the near upright but curving. High up it struck the upright and then turned inwards and over. On such fractions was the Currie Cup won in 2007.
The Lions had had a penalty kick bounce back out when it hit the upright and they had missed a conversion, also from the left corner.
It was all so close.
It was a wonderful day. The Free Staters took a day to sell the stadium out and by Friday Bloemfontein wore orange and orange bunting festooned the city. The people dressed up for the match in a variety of clothes and forms of headgear. Most were orange but the Lions' red made its showing as well - all in festive mood, orange and red mixed. It was a happy day.
The weather played along. After all the Highveld rain, the day was rainless and by the final whistle the sun was shining, not quite enough to form a rainbow with a Currie Cup at its base, but still a fittingly cheerful sun.
For Jannie du Plessis it was a special day - a World Cup medal one Saturday and a Currie Cup medal the next. For Hendro Scholtz it was a special day - his 100th match for his province. But really the celebration belonged to the whole team ... and the World Cup-winn9ing Springboks were there to see it.
They came in quietly and sat in chairs in the front and when the teams ran out of the change rooms for the second half there was a guard of honour formed by the World Champion Springboks.
The Cheetahs started running the ball in phase after phase as they dominated possession and territory. After six minutes the Lions had had three touches of the ball - two knock-ons and a kick-off after De Waal had opened the score with a penalty goal after Jano Vermaak had strayed off-side at a ruck.
But then the Lions got back and two minutes later Louis Strydom levelled the scores with a penalty when Rory Duncan was off-side.
Not that it was a match of many penalties. There were just nine, two each in the first half and 3-2 to the Cheetahs in the second. Both sides had plenty of chances to play.
And they wanted to play. The Lions ran from near their own line and immediately the Cheetahs ran from near their own line. The match was played at great pace, both sides looking to counterattack.
The Lions had a good opportunity when Gavin Passens dropped an up-and-under, the Cheetahs a great attacking opportunity but Marius Joubert kicked into the in-goal. Joubert had a great break and then Oelschig just saved as Jaco Pretorius took advantage of a knock-on and toed the ball towards the Cheetahs' line.
Strydom grubbered through for Ryno Benjamin but Duanne Vermeulen beet him to the ball by millimetres. Eddie Fredericks had a long kick and chase but lock Franco van der Merwe was there to gather, beat the flying wing and clear.
When Anton van Zyl was off-side De Waal made the score 6-3, but when Hendrik Meyer was penalised at a tackle Strydom's kick from an acute angle hit the upright and stayed out.
Just before half-time a break by Hendrik Meyer came close to producing a try but Cobus Grobler brought him down.
So half-time came with the score 6-3 - just three kicks but lots of excitement.
When the Lions attacked from a line-out Joubert lost the ball a matter of metres from the Cheetahs' line and from there the home side sent Passens flying down the touch-line.
Before the match Drotské had said that he thought discipline would play an important part. Indeed it seemed likely to sink his side.
The Cheetahs battered at the Lions' line but the touch judge reported No.8 Darron Nell for putting his feet on Lawrence Sephaka. That gave the Lions a relieving penalty and Nell ten minutes in the sin bin. Indeed he did not come back to the fray, for when his ten minutes were up Kabamba Floors came on in his stead.
The Lions lost Strydom at this stage. He had been hurt in the first half but had soldiered on. Now Earl Rose replaced him. At one stage it seemed a happy circumstance.
Rose chipped and chased and footed ahead and only the rugby ball's perversity robbed the Lions of a try. Then came a try.
Ludik countered a De Waal kick by racing down the right touch-line, hoofing high and following. Walter Venter got the ball and then Benjamin flung it to his left. The Lions had a long line of players and Joubert was able to plough towards the try-line. Brought down he popped the ball to hooker Willie Wepener who scored in the corner. Significantly the conversion was missed. 8-6 after 55 minutes.
Again the Cheetahs failed to control a high kick, this time by Rose and close to their line. Fredericks and Passens went for it but spilled it as Ludik competed. The ball fell fair for Vermaak who snatched up and scored at the posts. Rose converted. 15-6 after 59 minutes.
At this stage the Cheetahs threw men from the bench into the frantic fray but the Lions broke out from deep in their own 22 and swept downfield. Fredericks was sent to the sin bin for a late shoulder charge on Ludik and Rose goaled the penalty. 18-6 with 17 minutes to go.
Still the Cheetahs strove with every nerve on their bodies and rugby was again to prove a game of consequences.
The Lions had a defensive scrum but engaged early and the Cheetahs tapped the free kick to attack. They went from left to far right and then set up a maul which they drove over for a try credited to replacement Heinrich Brussow. De Waal converted. 18-13 with 14 minutes to go.
The Lions had a throw-in to a line-out but Wepener was required to go to the blood bin and Ethienne Reynecke threw in in his place. Unlike Bismarck du Plessis in the World Cup final, Reynecke's throw was wayward - over the top where Oelschig gathered the ball and the Cheetahs were attacking again.
Benjamin tackled Richardt Strauss high, was penalised and was sent to the sin bin. That gave the Cheetahs a five-metre line-out. Again they mauled and again they drove over the line, but neither the referee nor the TMO was sure a try had been scored and so it became a five-metre scrum to the Cheetahs.
At this stage everybody in the crowd was feverishly tense.
The Cheetahs went left. They battered and went again, till eventually Oelschig passed to De Bruyn on the left touch line. He fended off Ludik's attempted tackle and stumbled on to score a try that is already famous. De Waal kicked a conversion that is already famous and the Cheetahs had a famous victory.
Man of the Match: It seems to so silly to try to do this in a match when 44 men gave of their best and the quality was so high, but if we must single out one, it is not farfetched to single out as Man of the Match energetic, skilful Falie Oelschig with the unerring judgement.
Moment of the Match: Undoubtedly Willem de Waal's conversion which followed Tewis de Bruyn's try.
Villain of the Match: It also seems silly to pick a villain, even from the three yellow cards. What Eddie Fredericks and Ryno Benjamin did were almost certainly accidents. What Darron Nell did was more deliberate in these times when foot on player is taboo. So we shall single him out. In any case while he sat and watched the Lions scored 12 points.
The scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Brüssow, De Bruyn
Cons: De Waal 2
Pens: De Waal 2
For the Lions:
Tries: Wepener, Vermaak
Con: Rose
Pens: Strydom, Rose
Yellow cards: Darron Nell (Cheetahs, 49 - foul play, feet on a player), Eddie Fredericks (Cheetahs, 63 - foul play, shoulder charge), Rayno Benjamin (Lions, 73 - foul play, high tackle)
The teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Alwyn Hollenbach, 14 Eddie Fredericks, 13 Marius Joubert, 12 Hendrik Meyer, 11 Gavin Passens, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Falie Oelschig, 8 Darron Nell, 7 Duanne Vermeulen, 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Corniel van Zyl, 4 Rory Duncan (captain), 3 Kobus Calldo, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Jaco du Toit, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Barend Pieterse, 19 Heinrich Brüssow, 20 Kabamba Floors, 21 Tewis de Bruyn, 22 Meyer Bosman.
Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Jaco Pretorius , 12 Walter Venter, 11 Ryno Benjamin, 10 Louis Strydom , 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Ernst Joubert (captain), 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Cobus Grobler, 19 Wilhelm Koch, 20 Freddie van Zyl, 21 Earl Rose, 22 Wylie Human
Referee: Mark Lawrence (SARU)
Touch judges: Louis Mzomba (Western Province), Cobus Wessels (Blue Bulls)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (Boland)