The hosts led 16-7 at the halfway stage through one converted try and three penalty goals, while the Free Staters replied with a converted try. In the end, the visitors clinched the game through three well-constructed, converted tries in the second half.

Thanks to their bonus-point win, Hawies Fourie's side remain unbeaten and moved to within one point of the Vodacom Bulls (32 points) on the league table, having played one game less than the men from Pretoria.

The fixture at the DHL Stadium was one of contrasting fortunes for the two sides. The first half belonged to the fired-up home side, while the visitors played much better in the second half to maintain their unbeaten status in the competition.

It was also a memorable occasion for prop Aranos Coetzee, who played in his 100th match for the Toyota Cheetahs. The 34-year-old front ranker has also played in 24 Tests for Namibia.

DHL WP made all the play in the opening ten minutes and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Credit however to the Toyota Cheetahs, who defended intelligently to keep the home side at bay. Province also elected not to go for posts with a couple of penalties awarded to them close to the visiting try-line.

In contrast, the visitors made good on their assault on the home try-line when prop Alulutho Tshakweni dived over for his maiden provincial try, with skipper Ruan Pienaar adding the extras.

Pivot Tim Swiel then got DHL WP on the scoreboard with a straightforward penalty goal.

With the home side camping in their opponents’ 22m territory and conceding penalties at regular interval, referee AJ Jacobs punished Tshakweni with a yellow card for a repeated offence. This allowed Swiel to step up and to steer the easy goal attempt over.

Louis van der Westhuizen scored twice via the Cheetahs driving maul.

Tristan Leyds, the DHL WP fullback, handed his team the halftime lead when he scored a fine individual try which Swiel converted, while the No 10 also added a third penalty kick to stretch the halftime lead to 16-7 in favour of the Cape side.

Angelo Davids (wing) gave the home team a perfect second half start when he was on hand to take a final pass and dot down in the righthand corner. DHL WP was now in command at 21-7, however, the more experienced and battle hardened Free Staters were determined not to make it an easy afternoon.

Hooker Louis van der Westhuizen proved just that when he crossed the whitewash following a powerful lineout maul. Pienaar added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 21-14. Outside centre David Brits was next to cross the home try-line under the sticks courtesy of a deft pass from the experienced Frans Steyn.

Pienaar's conversion meant the teams were now level at 21-21 with still plenty of time to play.

A crucial scrum penalty in front of the opposing try-line gave the white jerseys another lineout maul opportunity, which Van der Westhuizen grabbed with both hands as he scored his second of the afternoon.

The Capetonians had a couple of opportunities to try and rescue the game, however, they were left frustrated by some basic errors.

Scorers:

DHL Western Province 21 (16) - Tries: Tristan Leyds, Angelo Davids. Conversion: Tim Swiel. Penalty goals: Swiel (3).

Toyota Cheetahs 28 (7) - Tries: Alulutho Tshakweni, Louis van der Westhuizen (2), David Brits. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (4).