Challenge Cup: Cheetahs shine in Italy with big win over Zebre Parma

Tries from Cohen Jasper, Reinhardt Fortuin and Louis van der Westhuizen provided the platform for the win, as did the boot of veteran Springbok Ruan Pienaar, who contributed 18 points via four penalties and three conversions.

After a fairly evenly contested first half that saw the two teams locked at 3-3 after half an hour of play, the Cheetahs would take control of the game during a highly productive final 10 minutes when they added 13 points in quick time via Jasper's converted try and two penalties from Pienaar, which allowed them to take a 16-3 lead into the break.

And the men from Bloemfontein rode that momentum into the second half as another great try from Fortuin, who straightened and broke the line after collecting a clever little inside pass, shortly after the restart saw them leave the Italians in their dust.

When Van Der Westhuizen went over for try number three just after the hour mark, there was no coming back for Zebre Parma from there, although they did finish strongly with two quickfire tries in the dying moments of the match to bring some respectability to the scoreline.

While the Cheetahs could not find a fourth-try bonus point, this was still a great result for Hawies Fourie's side away from home, particularly as this was their first official top-class match of the new season.

The Cheetahs will be back in action in the Challenge Cup next weekend when they return to Bloemfontein to host the Sharks.

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