cyRil
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http://cyrilsplace.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/smart-cheetahs-best-woeful-waratahs/
written by cyRil
Waratahs 3-23 Cheetahs
Brussow leads Free State to first win in Australia
The Cheetahs claimed a famous victory, and their first outside South Africa in 5 years, when they beat the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday night.
It was a win that was fully deserved with the visitors displaying superior skill, determination and finishing ability throughout the encounter â€" taking their chances when they were offered, and denying their hosts on numerous occasions with an aggressive defensive game.
An understrength Waratahs side were further burdened by injuries to Wallabies Benn Robinson and Wycliffe Palu â€" who join Tatafu Polota-Nau and Phil Waugh on the treatment table â€" but these set-backs do not provide an excuse for the lazy and half-hearted effort put in by the team as a whole; a performance that was derided by pundits and roundly booed at half and full-time by the New South Wales crowd.
The ‘Tahs started ferociously enough â€" illustrating early on just why they were top of the Australian SupeRugby Conference. Their backs looked dangerous with ball in hand; Tom Carter in particular looking sharp and making good yards. This breathless style continued for the first five minutes and was coupled with some casual Cheetahs play, leading to the first opportunity for points of the match, right in front of the visitors’ posts.
But the chance was spurned by half-back Luke Burgess who decided to tap and go instead, culminating in the Waratahs being bundled into touch and coughing up possession with no score to show for their early dominance.
After this initial period of endeavour, the first half receded into a dirge of predictable and unchallenging rugby from both sides, that was littered with numerous errors.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 15th minute when Sias Ebersohn gladly took his side’s first chance at goal to put the Cheetahs 3-0 up.
The home side drew level just before the half-hour mark when the Cheetahs were pinged for offside, providing full-back Kurtley Beale with the easy chance for 3 points which he duly took.
With defences on top and not being tested by mundane attacking, it was the Cheetahs who took the initiative by fielding high ball after high ball, which the ‘Tahs found difficult to cope with. The deployment of these bombs seemed to be doing the trick as Beale and wing Afa Pakalani were forced into handling mistakes on more than one occasion.
The Cheetahs, with their tails up, converted another penalty in the 32nd minute through Ebersohn, and headed into the break the happier side, leading 6-3.
A minute into the second period and the visitors had the chance to extend their lead, after Heinrich Brussow â€" the stand-out performer on the night â€" won his third turnover of the evening; but Riaan Viljoen had neither the distance or accuracy with his long-range effort.
After Beale failed to deal with a high kick miserably again, Ebersohn made up for Viljoen’s miss from closer in to make it 9-3 Cheetahs, with 44 minutes gone.
The Waratahs had to try something different in order to ignite the team, but seemingly anything they did attempt ended with a player infuriatingly spilling the ball forward, denying the Sydneysiders any chance of continuity or sustained phase-play.
Their night was epitomised on 51 minutes when replacement back-row Dave Dennis smashed through a poorly organised Cheetahs defensive line with a lung-bursting run, taking out 2 defenders in the process of popping the ball up delightfully for openside flanker Pat McCutcheon to drop the ball, butchering a glorious opportunity to give his side the lead.
Brussow was proving a constant scavenging menace around the paddock, and when he snaffled the ball back for his team from a botched Waratahs scrum it was apparent that it was not going to be the home side’s night.
Their fate was consigned on the hour mark, when Viljoen beat Drew Mitchell to Berrick Barnes’ cross-field kick inside the Cheetahs 22, the full-back set off down the touchline before passing inside to replacement Sarel Pretorius who in-turn fed Phillip Snyman, dashing 40 metres to the line for a crucial score. Ebersohn successfully converted from an easy angle to make it 16-3 Cheetahs with 20 minutes to play.
Although the ‘Tahs did attempt to up the tempo and apply pressure for a score to make the fixture competitive again, Brussow was the king of the breakdown on the night â€" turning ball over relentlessly to relieve the strain on his team’s line â€" and the home side’s non-existence in this area can be pin-pointed as the main reason for their lacklustre display at the Sydney Football Stadium.
With 3 minutes left Pretorius added an embarrassingly easy second try for his team, scrambling unopposed from 2 metres out to touch down, Ebersohn again adding the extras to further compound the Waratahs woeful night and provide an impressive final score of 23-3 in the visitors’ favour â€" their first ever on Aussie soil in SupeRugby.
Star man: Heinrich Brussow â€" Was the heart-beat of the team. Carried well, consummate in defence and won countless turnovers for the side.
5-metre flop: Afa Pakalani â€" Just about won the ‘who can drop the most balls’ competition with Kurtley Beale. An awful performance.
written by cyRil
Waratahs 3-23 Cheetahs
Brussow leads Free State to first win in Australia
The Cheetahs claimed a famous victory, and their first outside South Africa in 5 years, when they beat the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday night.
It was a win that was fully deserved with the visitors displaying superior skill, determination and finishing ability throughout the encounter â€" taking their chances when they were offered, and denying their hosts on numerous occasions with an aggressive defensive game.
An understrength Waratahs side were further burdened by injuries to Wallabies Benn Robinson and Wycliffe Palu â€" who join Tatafu Polota-Nau and Phil Waugh on the treatment table â€" but these set-backs do not provide an excuse for the lazy and half-hearted effort put in by the team as a whole; a performance that was derided by pundits and roundly booed at half and full-time by the New South Wales crowd.
The ‘Tahs started ferociously enough â€" illustrating early on just why they were top of the Australian SupeRugby Conference. Their backs looked dangerous with ball in hand; Tom Carter in particular looking sharp and making good yards. This breathless style continued for the first five minutes and was coupled with some casual Cheetahs play, leading to the first opportunity for points of the match, right in front of the visitors’ posts.
But the chance was spurned by half-back Luke Burgess who decided to tap and go instead, culminating in the Waratahs being bundled into touch and coughing up possession with no score to show for their early dominance.
After this initial period of endeavour, the first half receded into a dirge of predictable and unchallenging rugby from both sides, that was littered with numerous errors.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 15th minute when Sias Ebersohn gladly took his side’s first chance at goal to put the Cheetahs 3-0 up.
The home side drew level just before the half-hour mark when the Cheetahs were pinged for offside, providing full-back Kurtley Beale with the easy chance for 3 points which he duly took.
With defences on top and not being tested by mundane attacking, it was the Cheetahs who took the initiative by fielding high ball after high ball, which the ‘Tahs found difficult to cope with. The deployment of these bombs seemed to be doing the trick as Beale and wing Afa Pakalani were forced into handling mistakes on more than one occasion.
The Cheetahs, with their tails up, converted another penalty in the 32nd minute through Ebersohn, and headed into the break the happier side, leading 6-3.
A minute into the second period and the visitors had the chance to extend their lead, after Heinrich Brussow â€" the stand-out performer on the night â€" won his third turnover of the evening; but Riaan Viljoen had neither the distance or accuracy with his long-range effort.
After Beale failed to deal with a high kick miserably again, Ebersohn made up for Viljoen’s miss from closer in to make it 9-3 Cheetahs, with 44 minutes gone.
The Waratahs had to try something different in order to ignite the team, but seemingly anything they did attempt ended with a player infuriatingly spilling the ball forward, denying the Sydneysiders any chance of continuity or sustained phase-play.
Their night was epitomised on 51 minutes when replacement back-row Dave Dennis smashed through a poorly organised Cheetahs defensive line with a lung-bursting run, taking out 2 defenders in the process of popping the ball up delightfully for openside flanker Pat McCutcheon to drop the ball, butchering a glorious opportunity to give his side the lead.
Brussow was proving a constant scavenging menace around the paddock, and when he snaffled the ball back for his team from a botched Waratahs scrum it was apparent that it was not going to be the home side’s night.
Their fate was consigned on the hour mark, when Viljoen beat Drew Mitchell to Berrick Barnes’ cross-field kick inside the Cheetahs 22, the full-back set off down the touchline before passing inside to replacement Sarel Pretorius who in-turn fed Phillip Snyman, dashing 40 metres to the line for a crucial score. Ebersohn successfully converted from an easy angle to make it 16-3 Cheetahs with 20 minutes to play.
Although the ‘Tahs did attempt to up the tempo and apply pressure for a score to make the fixture competitive again, Brussow was the king of the breakdown on the night â€" turning ball over relentlessly to relieve the strain on his team’s line â€" and the home side’s non-existence in this area can be pin-pointed as the main reason for their lacklustre display at the Sydney Football Stadium.
With 3 minutes left Pretorius added an embarrassingly easy second try for his team, scrambling unopposed from 2 metres out to touch down, Ebersohn again adding the extras to further compound the Waratahs woeful night and provide an impressive final score of 23-3 in the visitors’ favour â€" their first ever on Aussie soil in SupeRugby.
Star man: Heinrich Brussow â€" Was the heart-beat of the team. Carried well, consummate in defence and won countless turnovers for the side.
5-metre flop: Afa Pakalani â€" Just about won the ‘who can drop the most balls’ competition with Kurtley Beale. An awful performance.
helps out my teams hehe
