The Cheetahs withstood a late Western Province fightback in Bloemfontein, while the Lions beat the Pumas in Nelspruit in Saturday’s Currie Cup action.

Province looked dead and buried when trailing 31-10 with 20 minutes to go, but hit back with tries from replacements Jared Africa and Enos Ndiao to cut the deficit to seven.

The drama intensified when Cheetahs centre Marco Janse van Vuren was shown red after a second yellow card.

WP thought they had levelled the scores when scrumhalf Ezekiel Ngobeni darted away to score under the posts, but the TMO ruled a knock-on in the build-up.

And while the Cheetahs were reduced to 13 men when hooker Marko Janse van Vuren was sent to the bin, they clung on for a 31-24 win that took them to the top of the Currie Cup log. WP’s losing bonus point lifted them off the bottom.

Earlier, winger Cohen Jasper opened the scoring for the hosts before flyhalf Jurie Matthee added a penalty.

Flank Mihlali Mosi extended the lead when he chased down winger Banie Britz’s kick, but Van Vuren’s deliberate knock-on saw the Cheetahs down to 14.

Province took advantage, with winger Shilton van Wyk crossing just before the break to make it 12-10.

The Cheetahs struck back soon after the restart when Britz scored after a quick tap from a scrum free kick, with lock Juan Venter and No 8 Neels Volschenk adding further tries to secure the bonus point and build a match-winning cushion.

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In Nelspruit, the Lions bounced back from last week’s loss to Boland with a 36-28 victory over the Pumas.

The sides went into half time level at 21-21 after three converted tries apiece, but two third-quarter tries – including a second for flank Renzo du Plessis – swung the match the Lions’ way.

The result lifted the Lions to second on the log ahead of Sunday’s clash between Boland and the Bulls in Wellington.

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CHEETAHS – Tries: Cohen Jasper, Mihlali Mosi, Banie Britz, Juan Venter, Neels Volschenk. Conversion: Jasper (3).
WP – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Jared Africa, Enos Ndiao. Conversions: Van Wyk, Tristan Leyds (2). Penalty: Van Wyk.

PUMAS – Tries: Ruwald van der Merwe, Ross Braude, Darren Adonis, Jan-Henning Campher. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (4).
LIONS – Tries: Kelly Mpeku, Angelo Davids, Renzo du Plessis (2), Dylan Sjoblom. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (4). Penalty: Dobela.

Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images