The Cheetahs defeated Griquas 31-21 in their pre-season warm-up match in Bloemfontein on Friday.

It was the second of two friendlies between the sides, with the Cheetahs also winning the first encounter 40-7 in Kimberley last week.

The sides were evenly poised in the first half and went into the break deadlocked at 14-14. The same pattern followed at the restart with both teams crossing for a converted try to remain level, but the hosts fired in the last 10 minutes and were rewarded with two unanswered tries to clinch a hard-fought 31-21 win.

With Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked kicking off next week, the Cheetahs will face the Pumas at home in their campaign opener, while Griquas will square off against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus.

ALSO READ: ‘SA Rugby is throwing us under the bus’

Cheetahs – Tries: Reinach Venter, Chucky van der Westhuizen, Craig Barry, Jacques du Toit, Howard Mnisi. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2), Tian Schoeman.
Griquas – Tries: James Verity-Amm, Zak Burger (2). Conversions: George Whitehead (3).

Photo: Gallo Images