Cardiff Blues 25 Toyota Cheetahs 20

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The home side trailed by 10-points early in the first-half following an Ox Nche try and the boot of Fred Zeilinga.

But while the Arms Park crowd were left shell-shocked, Cardiff Blues maintained their composure and battled back with aplomb.

Lee-Lo was the first to cross the whitewash and Ellis Jenkins’ try gave Cardiff Blues the lead going into half-time.

They controlled much of the second-half and a third score from Nick Williams strengthened their stranglehold on the encounter before Uzair Cassiem set-up a tense finale.

But the Blues held on for four points to leapfrog Connacht and cut the Cheetahs’ gap in third to 12-points.

The Cheetahs made a lively start to the encounter with Sibhale Maxwane causing the Blues problems with a hack on, which appeared to come off his knee.

Play went on however, and after he collected the ball the South African outfit set-up camp and following a sustained period of pressure, in which their pack flexed their muscle, Ox Nche powered over.

Fred Zeilinga added the extras to give his side an early lead at the rain swept Arms Park. Jarrod Evans had the opportunity to cut the deficit on five minutes but his long-range effort drifted narrowly to the left of the posts.

Zeilinga kept the scoreboard ticking for the visitors, who now held a 10-0 lead, but the Blues slowly built their way into the game.

And they turned their first real period of pressure into points thanks to Lee-Lo’s quick reactions. A cut out pass from Garyn Smith had given Aled Summerhill a hard of space on the right and he scorched down the touchline before cutting inside.

Seb Davies maintained momentum with a powerful charge before Lee-Lo scooped the ball up from the breakdown and powered over.

Evans knocked over the conversion to bring the scores to 7-10 at it appeared as though the dancing feet had created another try on 23 minutes.

The electric wing stepped and powered through three defenders before being hauled down short. A try seemed inevitable but the Cheetahs survived thanks to the illegal exploits of Rynier Bernabo at the breakdown.

He was penalised and sent to the sin-bin by referee Ian Davies and from the ensuing lineout the home side struck with Jenkins peeling around the front in a set move to crash over.

Evans was unable to add the tricky conversion but Cardiff Blues were now in front following a shaky start.

Wales’ Capital Region continued to threaten with Evans pulling the strings nicely at fly-half and he stretched his side’s lead with a simple penalty on 37 minutes.

It did not take the Cheetahs long to respond with Zeilinga bisecting the posts following a high tackle early in the second-half.

The visitors then pounced for what looked like a second try but it was ruled out by the TMO following a succession of knock-ons in the build-up.

A sensational break from Rhun Williams lit the second-half alight as he sliced through the Cheetahs defence on the counter-attack and surged forward.

He was unable to find support until Lloyd Williams was on hand and popped the ball to Summerhill but he was tackled short.

Possession was maintained and the ball moved to Lee-Lo on the right but he was left with too much to do and was bundled into touch.

The Cheetahs should have exited from the lineout but somehow Nick Williams came out of contact with the ball. He was unable to get it down but he needed no second invitation as he powered over from the ensuing scrum.

Evans slotted the conversion to make it 22-13 but the Cheetahs almost instantly replied following a mistake from the restart and Uzair Cassiem stretched over.

Zeilinga kept the scoreboard ticking to cut the Blues’ advantage to just two-point and set-up a nervous final quarter.

Wilson’s men remained dangerous with ball in hand with Owen Lane going close on two occasions, first following slick hands from Seb Davies and Lee-Lo and then an electric break from Tomos Williams.

They controlled territory and possession but were unable to break the resolute Cheetahs and eventually settled for a penalty in the face of an increasingly strong wind.

Cheetahs were given a late opportunity to claim victory, as a series of penalties saw the visitors opt to punt to the corner. However, a hugely committed defensive effort by Danny Wilson’s side eventually forced the visitors to knock on.

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