Clumsy Cheetahs still too strong for hapless Kings

The Cheetahs for the second successive match finished with 13 players but against a feeble Southern Kings it was still enough to beat 15 in Port Elizabeth as the visitors collected the maximum Guinness Pro 14 league points.

The win 45-21 victory consolidates the Cheetahs third place in their Conference, as well as their probable qualification for the quarter-finals.

The Cheetahs have 35 points from 12 matches, 10 points clear of the Cardiff Blues , who have played a match more.

The Kings led 24-7 at halftime and despite playing out the game with a two-player deficit, still managed to nail the final seven pointer.

The Cheetahs have to improve their discipline if they have any ambitions of upsetting the play-off form book and getting anywhere near a last four semi-final.

The Kings have been hopeless in their debut Pro 14 campaign and in the previous 11 matches conceded 62 tries. It was no different against South African rivals the Cheetahs and the hosts on Saturday were as generous in giving up six tries and remaining winless in 12 matches.

Cheetahs flyhalf Fred Zeilinga was named man of the match for his six conversions and one penalty.

Teams

Southern Kings

15 Yaw Penxe, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Martin du Toit, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Oliver Zono, 9 Rowan Gouws, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Tienie Burger, 6 Eital Bredenkamp, 5 Bobby de Wee, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Schalk Ferreira (captain)

Substitutes: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Johan Smith, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Lindokuhle Welemu, 20 Freddy Ngoza, 21 Rudi van Rooyen, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, 23 Harlon Klaasen

Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Craig Barry, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Niel Marais, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Zee Mkhabela, 23 AJ Coertzen