Replacement fly half Gareth Anscombe kicked a late conversion from the touchline as Wales claimed their first ever away victory in South Africa with an error-strewn 13-12 success over a much-changed Springboks at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein this Saturday evening.

Wing Josh Adams crossed for the only try of the game with two minutes left on the clock, leaving Anscombe with a difficult conversion to win the game, but he landed the ball through the centre of the posts to make history for Wayne Pivac’s side.

Stand-in captain Handre Pollard kicked four penalties for a Boks side that had 14 changes in their starting XV from the first test win and never found any fluency in a game where they mostly dominated territory until the final 10 minutes.

The third and deciding test in the series will be played in Cape Town next Saturday. – Independent

The Cheetahs continued with their unbeaten run as they scored three tries en route to a convincing victory over the Pumas in Nelspruit on Saturday.

A dominant second-half performance gave them a 28-17 win.

The Cheetahs made the trip from Bloemfontein looking to make it three wins from three in their Currie Cup campaign.

It was, however, the hosts who put the first points on the board from the boot of flyhalf Eddie Fouche in the second minute.

The visitors drew level two minutes later after veteran Ruan Pienaar kicked a penalty to open his side’s account.

Two tries followed, by Gideon van der Merwe and Clayton Blommetjies, to stretch the Cheetahs’ lead – good reward for ambitious and slick attacking play.

After appearing to be shell-shocked in the opening 20 minutes, the Pumas started to find their feet.

They counter-punched and managed to win three penalties, all duly converted by Fouche, to inch their way back into the contest.

At half time the score read 15-12 to the visitors.

The second half continued the trend of Cheetahs dominance.

Louis van der Westhuizen scored five minutes after the break, with Pienaar adding the extras to stretch the Cheetahs’ lead to 10 points.

The Pumas hit back with a try of their own through Eduan Swart to keep them in the contest.

However, ultimately it would prove insufficient as the Cheetahs continued to turn the screws.

Two more penalties by Ruan Pienaar and a long-distance effort from Frans Steyn put the result beyond doubt. – SA Rugby Mag

Staff Reporter

The Central University of Technology (CUT) has named Braam van Straaten as head coach of the Free State institution’s rugby team.

A statement from the university says Van Straaten, who turns 50 next week, boasts a wealth of experience which includes stints at international level with the Wallabies (Australia), Bermuda and Namibia as well as in Super Rugby with the Western Force (Australia), the Sharks and the Southern Kings.

According to the club vice-chairperson, André Pawson, the CUT Ixias will again be in excellent hands with the experienced coach in charge.

“We are super excited having Braam van Straaten at the steer of our rugby on campus,” Pawson is quoted as saying in the statement.

“He is an excellent coach, with a superb track record as general, defence and kicking coach, from provincial to international level.

“We are confident that Van Straaten will continue taking the CUT to even higher heights than we enjoyed over the last five years.”

CUT is expected to announce the rest of the rugby team’s coaching support staff soon.