Tale of two halves as Cheetahs fight back, but Sharks hold on for Currie Cup win in Bloemfontein

An excellent first-half display, where they kept the Cheetahs scoreless, has helped the Sharks to a 24-17 Currie Cup win in Bloemfontein on Friday. 

RECAP | Cheetahs v Cheetahs

The Sharks opened the scoring in the 9th minute when, after a break by James Venter and with Fez Mbatha heavily involved, flanker Tinotenda Mavesere crossed the whitewash.

Veteran flyhalf Lionel Cronje added the extras from the kicking tee to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead. 

The contest remained tight for most of the first stanza, but the Sharks extended their lead 10 minutes before half-time after the Cheetahs were caught offside near their line.

Cronje stepped up to slot the penalty to make the score 10-0 in the 31st minute.

They could have pushed that out even further when James Venter grabbed an intercept 50m from the Cheetahs' line, but the home side scrambled back in defence, and a knock-on ended the Sharks' attack. 

After the Cheetahs were penalized close to their line and with the half-time hooter already sounded, the Sharks set up a lineout close to the home side's line.

A series of penalties followed, with the Cheetahs receiving an official warning for continued infringements in the red zone as the Sharks opted for yet another attacking lineout.

The third time was the charm for the visitors as this time, the rolling maul was effective, allowing Mbatha to get over the line.

The Cheetahs were reduced to 14 men at the same time as veteran prop Schalk van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin for continued infringements.

Cronje converted Mbatha's try as the Sharks took a handy 17-0 lead into the break. 

The Cheetahs needed to be the first team to score in the second half, and even with a man down, they started on the front foot.

That resulted in a try