The Toyota Cheetahs of South Africa defeated the USA Falcons 53-25 Friday night in Bloemfontein, Free State, making it plain that the Eagles program still has some work to do.
The USA team actually led 20-17 at halftime and had the run of play. They scored two tries, off a well-executed maul that saw flanker Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz thunder over from short range, and another after a period of pressure by the forwards and a nice run and offload from Paul Lasika where the Falcons went wide and wing Christian Dyer stretched over.
Luke Carty had an especially good half and converted both before adding two penalty goals. The Cheetahs scored two tries to take a 12-0 lead, somewhat against the run of play, before the Falcons came back to stick their beaks in front.
During the first half the Americans handled sufficiently well the monster boot of Francois Steyn, and made more than 90% of their tackles. The only real concern was their lineout, which was not consistent.
The halftime lead was preserved in part thanks to captain Bryce Campbell. Late in the first half with the Cheetahs threatening the line, Campbell was situated on the left side of the field behind the ruck. Suddenly he took off to his right even before the ball came out of the breakdown. The Cheetahs went wide and speedster Rosko Specman saw a huge gap in the USA line. Campbell got there just in time to get Specman around the legs; the Cheetahs back stretched to score, but lost the ball forward—no try. It was a nice example of a never give up attitude that the Falcons showcased.
