Cheetahs thrash tame Lions
The Cheetahs continued their free-scoring form with a 53-19 drubbing of Super Rugby strugglers the Lions in Johennesburg.
Last Updated: 06/05/11 11:28pm
The Cheetahs continued their free-scoring form with a 53-19 drubbing of Super Rugby strugglers the Lions in Johannesburg.
Riaan Viljoen grabbed a hat-trick of tries, while fly-half Sias Ebersohn scored 29 points to give the Bloemfontein-based club their second straight bonus-point victory.
The Cheetahs have won only three games all season, but have now racked up a total 147 points in their last three matches.
The visitors sparked into life around the half-hour mark, with Corne Uys, Viljoen and Ebersohn all crossing in a 10-minute period.
Another three tries were ruled out by the video referee, but the Cheetahs had killed the contest off as they took a 36-7 lead into half-time.
Full-back Viljoen, who had scored only one Super Rugby try prior to the contest, touched down twice more after the break to complete the hat-trick and condemn the Lions to a seventh straight loss.
Try
The hosts had led after Josh Strauss' early try but were quickly overwhelmed before replacements Michael Rhodes and Martin Bezuidenhout scored consolation tries in the second half.
Ebersohn began his perfect night with the boot with two early penalties but Strauss bustled over at the other end to help his side claim a 7-6 lead after 10 minutes.
It was all one-way traffic for the remainder of the half, though, as the Cheetahs stepped the intensity up a notch.
Springbok Heinrich Brussow was denied by the TMO, but moments later produced a superb behind-the-back pass to play Uys in under the posts.
Viljoen had also fallen foul of the video referee before some poor defence allowed him to score two minutes before the break and a minute later Ebersohn finished off a move that took the Cheetahs the length of the field.
The match slowed after the interval, but Viljoen wrapped-up the bonus point for his side on 65 minutes after cutting inside three defenders to score unopposed.
And the 28-year-old completed a memorable night for the Cheetahs, who climb to ninth in the overall table, by crossing for a third time with three minutes left.
