The only local game for this Saturday sees the Cheetahs host the Highlanders in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs come off their first bye weekend while the Highlanders kick off their tour to South Africa.
The Cheetahs have had a week off following their loss to the Chiefs, and will be fresh to kick off their second half of the tournament with a win against the New Zealanders. Sias Ebersohn drops back to the bench to make way for Baby Bok flyhalf Johan Goosen, with Tewis de Bruyn getting a start ahead of the younger Piet van Zyl. Amongst the forwards, Ashley Johnson is again on the bench and is sure to make an impact off the bench.
The Highlanders are currently lying in second spot on the New Zealand conference, after a tight win over the Blues last weekend. Their match against the Cheetahs will be their target four points as they face the Sharks in Durban next weekend. Ben Smith returns to starting line-up, with Tamati Ellison shifting into the midfield in a backline shuffle.
Cheetahs: Hennie Daniller, Cameron Jacobs, Robert Ebersohn, Andries Strauss, Willie le Roux, Johan Goosen, Tewis de Bruyn, Philip van der Walt, Justin Downey, Heinrich Brüssow, Izak van der Westhuizen, Andries Ferreira, WP Nel, Adriaan Strauss (captain), Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements: Hercu Liebenberg, Trevor Nyakane, George Earle, Ashley Johnson, Piet van Zyl, Sias Ebersohn, Philip Snyman.
Highlanders: 1 Jamie Mackintosh (C,) 2 Andrew Hore, 3 Chris King, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 5 Jarrad Hoeata , 6 Adam Thomson, 7 James Haskell ,8 Nasi Manu, 9 Aaron Smith, 10 Mike Delany, 11 Hosea Gear, 12 Shaun Treeby, 13 Tamati Ellison, 14 Buxton Popoali’i, 15 Ben Smith
Reserves 16 Jason Rutledge ,17 Ma’afu Fia ,18 Culum Retallick, 19 Doug Tietjens ,20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Chris Noakes, 22 Siale Piutau
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant Ref 1:Sindile Mayende
Assistant Ref 2:Stefan Breytenbach
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
Tweet
Go Landers
Cheetahs 10 – 6 Landers
22 mins
Go Cheetahs!
Cheetahs 16 – 6 Landers
32 mins
Highlanders have 2 players in the sin bin now.
Dirty H’landers
Cheetahs try. Andries Ferreira.
Cheetahs 23 – 6 Landers
39 mins
How the hell does Jonker get allocated games, especially after lasy weekends dros he served up. This guy is an egomaniac supreme.
Half Time
Cheetahs 23 – 9 Highlanders
Keep it up Cheetahs
Brilliant try from Goosen. Looks like he might have done his shoulder by diving over for it.
Looks serious. I’m afraid Goosen will be out for a long time!
Cheetahs 30 – 9 Landers
51 mins
Highlanders score a try.
Cheetahs 30 – 16 Landers
60 mins
Sias missing 2 penalties already.
@Ben (Comment 12) : Baby Boks are surely gonna miss him
Cowan scores for the Highlanders.
Cheetahs 30 – 23 Landers
64 mins
Cowan scores another!
Cheetahs 30 – 30 Landers
66 mins
Bring it home boys!
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 21) : Good luck mate..
Jonker looks like he wants to be the difference between the sides……. don’t think he liking this running rugby much!
Cheetahs penalty. Going for goal. Ova!
Cheetahs 33 – 30 Landers
70 mins
here he goes again
Highlanders kick a penalty.
Cheetahs 33 – 33 Landers
72 mins
Jonker could be a very disappointed man at the end of this …. he gives me flash backs to 1976 SA Ref’s
thats another brilliant decision
Cheetahs penalty!almost in front.
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 27) :
I totally agree ..its very embarrassing how he is conducting himself as a ref …
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 27) : Hope you doing well
Misses it! Shocker!!!
justice ….. try to win it
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 33) :
Go Cheetahs
Can’t even hide behind my SA bias ..he is such a corrective ref …makes a glaring mistake and then tries and make up with it with shit calls…its clear he has lost his confidence as a ref.
you little beautie
Highlanders penalty. Tough one. Over!
Cheetahs 33 – 36 Highlanders
79 mins
FULL TIME
Cheetahs 33 – 36 Highlanders
Great result lads well played
What a comeback!!!!
Well done Landers.
Cheetahs you suck…. Big time.
Night all
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 40) : Your boys were rather dirty today.
@JarsonX (Comment 42) : How Sias missed that from right in front I don’t know…
hahaha JUSTICE !!!
I blame Jonker …you could clearly see his bullshit calls constantly just created more of a resolve for the Highlanders to win it.
He needs to go !
@lostfish (Comment 44) : Grow up !
@lostfish (Comment 44) :
Rubbish !
The stuff that went on in this game was par for the course in previous matches ..
I’m also sick of Skinstad he needs to go as well ….. totally bias towards any SA taem week in week out ….. he’s a joke as well.
@csb (Comment 48) :
Full on brawl in the Stormers match went unpunished …cause the ref wasn’t biased he remained calm and issued a white and played on …in Jonkers case he always has to be the big man …what a plonker.
Well done HH on your teams win you totally deserved it.
@csb (Comment 48) :
If Haskell gets weeks out for that …. then we may as well make it non-contact
Tough one for the cheetahs, can’t blame Eberson if he had the game time he would have the confidence and that kick would have been over, game pressure is different to practice ,tough one
@csb (Comment 50) :
What is Ben Smith smoking… “The Sharks are playing well” hahahahaha
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 49) :
As a Human being he is great but as a commentator terrible …blatant biased alla Stransky just worse.
SA unfortunatly has a huge problem when it comes to commentators and presenters frankly very poor.
Better go to bed before it’s time to get up again …night all or rather morning ……See you in Durban.
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 47) : @csb (Comment 48) : That was meant to be sarcastic. We need a font for sarcasm
@csb (Comment 55) : Interesting …catch ya!
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 51) :
If we start issueing yellow and red cards for missed haymakers, uppercuts and hooks then alot of games will be ending with very few players on the field.
@lostfish (Comment 57) :
I apologise
..reckon the dark glasses smiley comes close to being sarcastic 
@csb (Comment 60) : I will use it the next time to try and avoid confusion
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 49) : Agreed and the producers as well.
How many times did they re-show the punch on Downey. He got what he deserved. He was playing the guy illegally and he took exception and “explained” to Downey why he shouldn’t do it in future.
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 51) : I have to disagree with that one. He connected DAMN well with the second punch. That said Downey got what he deserved.
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 56) : Enjoy the win down there.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 63) : nope, cant agree with that one. No place for punching in rugby – especially if the guy on the receiving end bound in the maul. I like the guys clanging into each other hard, but there is a line between hard and dirty.
Thought Haskell had a brilliant game until he did that.
@Bokhoring (Comment 65) : The guy on the receiving end was not bound on the maul he was illegally “bound” on Haskell. Yes Haskell’s response was over the top, but Downey will have learnt an important lesson.
If something needs to be stamped out it is the illegal off the ball stuff that goes on. This was one such occassion. Haskell was retaliating not instigating.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 64) : Sies vi jou
@KSA Shark © (Comment 66) : Kiwis are masters at this tactic themselves.
Anyway I do like the way the Highlanders play – everything done at full speed.
@Bokhoring (Comment 68) : That they are and when one of them gets a ringing ear he will hopefully learn a small lesson.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 66) : dude, maybe if you saw what that thug actually did to Justin’s face, you might stop being such a chop about it.
PUNCHING IN RUGBY IS ILLEGAL. I would think as a ref you would know that.
@robdylan (Comment 71) : As a player I know what it feels like to be illegally interfered with and the ref not seeing it and I also know the frustration that goes along with being powerless to do anything about the guy interfering with you. As a ref I know to punish anything illegal that I see.
I’m not saying what Haskell did is legal. And if you look above (Comment 63) you will see I agree with him being punished, but let’s not make Downey out to be an angel in this. They both did something illegal just because Haskell is the one who threw the punches doesn’t make him the only villian.
If you look for shit and you get it then you mustn’t complain just because the guy gave you a whole lot more than you bargained for. As a scrumhalf who would niggle players and then get the odd good thump for my troubles, I know how Downey’s pride must feel. I just hope he takes it like a man and realises the Haskell was retaliating to what Downey was doing. As a kid I was taught if I pulled the dog’s tail it was eventually going to bite me, the dog would get a smack for biting me but I knew it wasn’t the dog’s fault.
Rob, the fact that you are related to Downey is giving you an unobjective reaction to this.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 72) : Reminds me of a dvd I watched. “Rugby’s biggest hits” by James Dalton. The Boks were playing Wales I think and they were close to our line. The Welsh lock kept tugging at Kobus Wiese only for him to get knocked out cold a couple of seconds later.
@Ben (Comment 73) : I have that DVD.
@Ben (Comment 73) : Darwin Jones was the Welsh lock.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 72) : bullshit. I would react exactly the same way if he had hit Coenie Oosthuizen, the other player who was holding him… to whom I’m not related and whom I can’t stand.
there’s gamesmanship and there’s common assault. It’s this macho “take it like a man” crap that tends to blur those lines.
This is kinda a double edged sword. Would you call a guy who assassinates someone who has stolen millions a hero or a murderer. It all depends on your point of view. They were both in the wrong, so I say Downey got what was coming to him, and if Haskell gets the book thrown at him, he gets what was coming to him as well.
I’m losing a hell of a lot of respect for people who admit openly they condone punching on a rugby field. Maybe you guys should rather go watch boxing if you can’t separate your bloodlust from watching sport.
@Die Kriek (Comment 77) : that’s like saying “I didn’t like the way that ou was checking out my stukkie, so I shot him. He had what was coming to him”.
@robdylan (Comment 79) : Just for the record. I’m with you on this one Rob. What Downey did was illegal but what Haskell did was foul play. Foul play should be kicked out of rugby!
@robdylan (Comment 79) : I was trying to point out the difference between two illegal actions and what happens when one illegal action leads to another. Was not really picking sides, rather trying to create common ground.
@Die Kriek (Comment 81) : maybe KSA is right… maybe I’m losing perspective here and over reacting.
Still hope Haskell cops a nice long spell on the sidelines though.
@robdylan (Comment 82) : As do I.
12 in the ring with SBW perhaps *wink*
@robdylan (Comment 82) :
Will be interesting to see what happens to Haskell ….. it seems like he will cop a ban but i think it will be minimal was he even looking at Downey when he hit him.
I look back at the big open hand cheap shot from the Sharks Doctor in the Hurricanes game that set of a full scale brawl that resulted in just about ever player on the field either throwing or being hit by a punch ……yet no one was was found guity of anything……. how does that work?
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 84) : there should have been sterner punishment handed out to several players after that one as well… would have been ok with it had Jannie copped a few weeks for that effort.
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 84) : I’m surprised they’re taking so long in deciding the Haskell case… generally these things are done and dusted within 24 hours of the incident.
@robdylan (Comment 86) :
True that is what I was thinking … where’s Heron from?
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 87) : isn’t he one of yours?
@Hertford Highlander (Comment 87) : “Mike Heron (born James Michael Heron, 27 December 1942, Edinburgh) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the …”
Probably not THAT one…
@robdylan (Comment 78) : The Hask deserves a ban for that punch but the rest of it was pretty much handbags.
Sharks definitely won’t mind Haskell being banned – he was quite a handful on the park. Was it him or the other flank who threw that beautifully weighted pass that the winger ran onto?
I didn’t watch the game, so if I understand this correctly, Downey “got what he deserved” cos he was illegally bound? Is that par for the course now?
So in sentencing mitigation argument will include that he got what he deserved and learnt a valuable lesson?
I’m not too attached to either team, but just find the logic interesting.
One can not justify a red card offense as a retaliation for a simple penalty offense he could have like most payers use his forearm to hit the guys hand binding him illegally. If he got the red card as suggested by the asst ref then no citing would be needed or as severe.bottom line all players uses tactics to distract players,if you loose control and through a punch,even if provoked you should be punished