The Cheetahs scored three tries on their way to a 27-20 victory over the Sharks in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The Sharks will be the only South African team in the Super Rugby play-offs this year, but they were outplayed by their hosts who made far better use of their opportunities.
The home side struck first when Johan Goosen kicked an easy penalty from in front of the poles, and they followed that up with an astounding 30 metre maul which saw flank Torsten van Jaarsveld crash over for the opening try.
The Sharks reponded with a period of sustained pressure that eventually resulted in a penalty to flyhalf Tim Swiel which got them on the scoreboard and the scores were level shortly afterwards as Cobus Reinach hit a gap at a line-out and raced away to beat the cover defence and score.
The visitors hit the lead for the first time in the game when Swiel slotted another penalty after an infringement at a maul from the Cheetahs but the Cheetahs took it back when No.8 Phillip van der Walt scored under the poles after some powerful phase-play.
That saw them take a 17-13 advantage into half-time, and they extended that when big Lodewyk de Jager got over ten minutes after the break to cap another sustained period of pressure in the Sharks 22.
Another Goosen penalty with 25 minutes left gave the Cheetahs a 14-point buffer which meant that the Sharks had to score at least three times to win.
They got back within striking distance when Bismarck du Plessis barrelled over from a driving maul, and they pushed hard for the draw at the end but they would have to be content with the single log point for finishing within seven points.
More to follow...
The scorers:
For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Van Jaarsveld, Van der Walt, De Jager
Cons: Goosen 3
Pens: Goosen 2
For the Sharks:
Tries: Reinach, Du Plessis
Cons: Swiel 2
Pens: Swiel 2
Yellow card: Johan Goosen (Cheetahs, 80 mins - Cynical infringement)
