Two tries, two penalties, and a conversion were enough for the Cheetahs to dispatch the Buffaloes in the opening fixture of the 2024 Rugby Super Series. Cheetahs navigated muddy waters to lead 15-5 at halftime before holding their own in the second half to see out the win.
Quinto Ongo slotted in two penalties and one conversion to complement the two tries dotted down by Clinton Juma and Celestine Mboi. Collins Indeche scored the sole try for the Buffaloes.
Speaking after the game, Buffaloes Head Coach Maxwell Adaka blamed inexperience and unforced errors for their loss. “Tough luck for us, we had a lot of errors. That coupled with the condition of the pitch means that we have a lot to work on in the next training sessions,” commented Adaka.
The Buffaloes held their own in the second half, coming close to scoring on a couple of occasions only to be undone by a myriad of errors. The inexperience also played a part given that the Buffaloes could be the youngest side in this year’s Rugby Super Series.
“We have very young guys; our average age is about 22 or 23 thereabout. Our aim is to give young players a chance to showcase what they can do. They actually did very well but at the end of the day, it was just tough luck for them. In Nakuru we will be much better,” concludes Adaka.
Cheetahs win
On his part, the winning coach Lawrence Buyachi praised his side’s resilience and execution, saying that whatever they worked on during training came through for his side today. “The game was good, it was what we were targeting, and it feels good to win. The conditions were tough too, we could not play according to our plan, so we had to switch things up a bit and we are happy we got the result,” commented Buyachi.
His side were pushed to the corner in the second half. What came through for them? “Our defense pattern came through for us. The boys are well conditioned, and they were up to the task.”
Cheetahs’ Felix Odhiambo was voted player of the match. The back rower contributed immensely to the team’s performance on both defense and attack. On his performance, Buyachi heaped praise on his performance saying he did justice to the jersey. “Felix is a very big asset to us and we are very happy for him”
The Cheetahs will face the Lions in the second round of the Rugby Super Series while the Buffaloes will look to bounce back when they face the Rhinos.
