Sharks v Cheetahs - Live

full-time Sharks 34 Cheetahs 15

80 The Cheetahs are trying desperately to register their first points of the half but they make little headway. Time is up on the clock and when the ball fails to come out of a ruck the referee blows his final whistle. There's jubilant scenes as the hosts celebrate their qualification for the play-offs. It was a great second half effort that set up this win and they certainly deserve all the accolades.

80 Michalak takes a shot at goal after Pieter Labuschagne is penalised for playing the ball from an offside position. The Sharks pivot pushes the ball past the uprights to miss his first kick of the match.

78 Michalak puts in a 30 metre box kick which rolls into touch inside the Cheetahs' 22.

75 CONVERSION, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 34-15. Michalak adds the easy extras and the Sharks are holding a comfortable lead now.

74 TRY, SHARKS, KANKOWSKI! 32-15. Ryan Kankowski runs onto a pass and outsprints the cover defence before scoring under the posts.

72 Robert Ebersohn and Willie le Roux combine well and take the Cheetahs from inside their own half to close to the Sharks' 22. Boom Prinsloo eventually takes it into contact but then Marcel van der Merwe knocks on.

70 Michalak tries a drop-goal from about 45 metres out! It's a poor attempt though and is well wide off the uprights.

67 The Cheetahs try to attack out wide with their backs from inside their own half but they are called back by the referee when a pass from Robert Ebersohn to Nico Ebersohn goes forward.

65 Steyn takes a shot at goal from 45 metres out after the Cheetahs infringe at a ruck. His effort is just wide of the right-hand upright though.

62 CONVERSION, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 27-15. Another two points is added from the boot of the French number 10!

61 TRY, SHARKS, COETZEE! 25-15. Marcell Coetzee shows the Cheetahs defence a clean pair of heels when he races away from a ruck at the Cheetahs' 22 before scoring!

59 CONVERSION, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 20-15. Michalak adds the extra two points and the Sharks extend their lead!

58 TRY, SHARKS, MCLEOD! 18-15. Charl McLeod benefits from a moment of individual brilliance from JP Pietersen who after launching a counter-attack from deep inside his half puts in a kick for McLeod, who gathers and dots down!

56 Ludik makes a telling break and is hauled in inside the Cheetahs' 22. He offloads to Steyn who is stopped just short of the line and at the resulting ruck Charl McLeod knocks on!

54 The Sharks forwards do well when they put tremendous pressure on their opponents at a scrum but all that good work is undone when Jannie du Plessis is pinned for illegal scrummaging again when the set-piece is re-set.

52 Louis Ludik, who is on as a Pat Lambie's replacement, goes down under a heavy challenge from a Cheetahs player. The full-back does well though to hold onto the ball and the Sharks maintain possession.

49 Francois Steyn puts in a 50 metre clearance kick after Sias Ebersohn, who is on as a replacement for Rian Smit, holds onto the ball on the ground.

47 The Cheetahs are awarded a scrum when Jannie du Plessis is penalised for a scrum infringement. The visitors put the ball into touch on the Sharks' 22 metre line.

45 CONVERSION, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 13-15. Michalak narrows the gap to two points when he slots the conversion.

44 TRY, SHARKS, DANIEL! 11-15. Keegan Daniel crosses over after beating Robert Ebersohn with a deft side-step close to the try-line!

42 The Sharks take the ball through 11 phases and are soon inside the Cheetahs' 22. They win the put-in at a scrum when the ball doesn't come out at a ruck.

40 Frans Steyn gets the second half underway! His kick is gathered by Ashley Johnson, who is on the field as a replacement for Brussouw, who is off injured. Johnson immediately takes the ball into contact.

Half-time Sharks 6 Cheetahs 15

40 PENALTY, CHEETAHS, SMIT! 6-15. Smit adds another three points when Whitehead plays the ball from an offside position after Michalak knocks on. The hooter sounds shortly after the kick and the teams head in to the change rooms for half-time. The Sharks will have to put in a better effort after the break or they might miss out on the play-offs.

37 The Sharks have already made a couple of changes to their starting XV with Willem Alberts replacing Pieter-Steph du Tiot and Bismarck du Plessis coming on for Craig Burden.

36 The Sharks do well to take the ball through several phases and they are soon close to the Cheetahs' try-line. Tim Whitehead and Francois Steyn are both stopped just short of the line.

34 PENALTY, CHEETAHS, SMIT! 6-12. Smit extends his team's lead after Charl McLeod tackles Piet van Zyl off the ball at a ruck.

31 PENALTY, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 6-9. Michalak adds the extras to narrow the gap to three points!

30 Brussouw concedes another penalty when he plays the ball on the ground at a ruck.

27 Heinrich Brussouw is penalised for side-entry at a ruck inside the Sharks' half. Michalak puts the ball into touch midway between the halfway mark and the Cheetahs' 22.

24 PENALTY, CHEETAHS, SMIT! 3-9. Smit extends his team's lead after Lwazi Mvovo is penalised for not releasing a tackled player on the ground.

22 Philip Snyman does well when he takes a high ball just outside his 22 and sets off on a mazy run. He beats several defenders and is eventually stopped inside the Sharks' half.

19 PENALTY, CHEETAHS, SMIT! 3-6. Smit punishes Steyn's indiscretion to put his side into the lead!

19 YELLOW CARD, SHARKS, STEYN! Francois Steyn gets his marching orders for a spear-tackle on Robert Ebersohn.

18 The Cheetahs are putting plenty of pressure on the Sharks in the rucks. The ball eventually comes out to Lambie who puts it directly into touch from 10 metres outside of his 22.

16 PENALTY, CHEETAHS, SMIT! 3-3. Rian Smit draws his side level after Marcell Coetzee is pinned for a ruck infringement.

14 PENALTY, SHARKS, MICHALAK! 3-0. Freddie Michalak gets the first points of the match after some of the Cheetahs forwards go off their feet at a ruck.

12 The Sharks attack close to the Cheetahs' try-line. Le Roux does well when he intercepts a pass from Keegan Daniel but runs straight into touch.

10 The Sharks are awarded a penalty when Izak van der Westhuizen plays the ball from an offside position at a ruck. Lambie puts the ball into touch on the edge of the Cheetahs' 22.

8 Lambie launches an up-and-under which Willie le Roux gathers. The Cheetahs are awarded a penalty when Craig Burden is pinned for tackling Le Roux after not retreating from the 10 metre radius after Lambie's kick. The Cheetahs put the ball into touch midwat between the Sharks' 22 and the halfway mark.

6 JP Pietersen and Philip Snyman compete for a high ball inside the Cheetahs's half. Pietersen gets there first but knocks on.

4 WP Nel takes the ball into contact but knocks on after taking a big hit from Dale Chadwick.

2 The Cheetahs are on the attack inside the Sharks half but lose momentum when Piet van Zyl knocks on.

Kick-off Riaan Smit gets us underway! His kick is gathered by Fred Michalak, who offloads to Pat Lambie, who puts the ball into touch.

Team News There's a late change in the Sharks run-on side, with Dale Chadwick coming in for Beast Mtwarira who withdrew through injury.

Team News Sevens star Johannes Prinsloo will earn his first Super Rugby cap in place of Justin Downey at number eight. Downey dislocated a finger in the Cheetahs' 13-6 defeat against the Stormers last week and is expected to be sidelined for nearly two months. In other injury-enforced changes made by Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske, Philip Snyman has been included on the wing in place of Cameron Jacobs, while Griquas scrum-half Jacques Coetzee has been named on the bench after Tewis de Bruyn pulled out due to a groin strain.

Team News The Sharks welcome back Patrick Lambie, Willem Alberts and Jacques Botes, who all passed late fitness tests, to the matchday 22. Lambie is at full-back in place of Louis Ludik who plays off the bench, alongside returning forwards Alberts and Botes. Pieter-Steph du Toit who left the field in the first-half of last week's match with an ankle injury has been bracketed in with Jean Deysel amongst the reserves, as have the back-line duo of Meyer Bosman and Paul Jordaan. Jandre Marais will start at lock with Steven Sykes not declared fit yet and du Toit still not cleared.

Welcome Hello and welcome to Kings Park Stadium in Durban for this Super Rugby clash between our hosts, the Sharks, and the Cheetahs. It's the final round-robin match of the tournament for both teams but a win for the Sharks will almost certainly secure their place in the play-offs.

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