Sias Ebersohn beat his former team-mate Johan Goosen in the battle of the flyhalves on Saturday, writes JON CARDINELLI.

The game at the Free State Stadium witnessed a clash of styles, as the Cheetahs looked to run absolutely everything and the Force waited to capitalise on the Cheetahs' attacking mistakes.

Ultimately, it was the Force who enjoyed more success through their game plan. And it was their flyhalf who made the bigger impact in the contest.

Goosen was effective when he took the ball to the line, and in two instances he manufactured a gap for his outside runner. Unfortunately for the Cheetahs, both Coenie Oosthuizen and Raymond Rhule failed to find their support runner after making the break.

In general, Goosen played too deep and made the task of the Force defence that much easier. The Springbok flyhalf also battled to organise the Cheetahs attack, which looked uncharacteristically predictable; especially in the first half.

While Goosen missed one attempt on goal, Ebersohn took every scoring chance on offer. It was because of Ebersohn, himself a former Cheetahs flyhalf, that the Force went to the break with a 16-6 lead.

Ebersohn didn't look to move the ball as much as Goosen, and was rarely an attacking threat. But what he did in terms of his defence, decision-making and tactical kicking went a long way to securing the Force an important victory.

Photo: Paul Kane/Phil Walter/Getty Images