DHL Western Province claimed a dramatic 31-29 win with the last kick of the game against the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Flyhalf Tim Swiel stepped up to kick a match-winning penalty after the forward pack gave him the opportunity with a late scrum penalty which was enough for them to seal the win, which sees them move into second place on the Carling Currie Cup standings heading into the final round before the play-offs.

The teams traded early penalties after an opening 10 minutes dominated by kicking and aggressive defence from both sides.

The DHL Western Province scrum asserted their authority at every opportunity, winning a number of penalties as they forced the Toyota Cheetahs pack backwards repeatedly.

The home side gave away a few penalties for offside and at the breakdwon as DHL Western Province enjoyed the majority of territory and possession.

Two penalties from 60 metres out from Frans Steyn kept the Toyota Cheetahs in the game, but it was the visitors who came up with the first try just before half-time.

Another huge scrum won a penalty, which was kicked into the corner and from the resulting maul Jaco Coetzee peeled off to score and give DHL Western Province a 17-9 advantage at the break.

DHL Western Province made a convincing start to the second half and were first to score after the break as Tim Swiel kicked two more penalties, with the Toyota Cheetahs offside in both instances.

The home side responded with a maul try of their own from hooker Wilmar Arnoldi and they followed that up straight away with a counter-attack try from wing Rosko Specman, which levelled it up at 23-23 heading into the final 20 minutes.

The Toyota Cheetahs hit the lead for the first time in the game with another penalty from Steyn after DHL Western Province had gone offside.

However, DHL Western Province were back in the lead shortly afterwards as hooker Bongi Mbonambi scored from a maul after a late charge off the ball from Clayton Blommetjies.

The seesaw battle continued as the Toyota Cheetahs won a scrum penalty and Steyn kicked it over to make it 29-28 heading into the final few minutes.

The DHL Western Province scrum and Swiel’s boot fittingly had the final say as the forwards won one last penalty to give the flyhalf a chance to win the game and he did not disappoint, splitting the uprights from 50 metres out to seal a dramatic 31-29 win.

The scorers:

For DHL WP:
Tries: Coetzee, Mbonambi
Pens: Swiel 7

For Toyota Cheetahs:
Tries: Arnoldi, Specman
Cons: Steyn 2
Pens: Steyn 5

DHL Western Province: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 David Meihuizen, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Ruhan Nel, 23 Tristan Leyds.

Toyota Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Rhyno Smith, Dries Swanepoel, Frans Steyn, Rosko Specman; Reinhardt Fortuin, Ruben de Haas; Jeandre Rudolph, Oupa Mohoje, Andisa Ntsila, Reniel Hugo, Carl Wegner (captain), Khutha Mchunu, Wilmar Arnoldi, Boan Venter.
Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Erich de Jager, Conraad van Vuuren, Victor Sekekete, Chris Massyn, George Cronje, Howard Mnisi, Tian Meyer.