The Cheetahs scored 23 unanswered points in the first half to beat the Lions 26-5 for a Super Rugby victory on Saturday.
Centre Robert Ebersohn went over for two tries and flyhalf Johan Goosen kicked 13 points before being replaced to put the home team out of sight in the week-seven South African derby at Free State Stadium.
Ebersohn skipped through two tackles for his first try as the Cheetahs racked up 23 points in a 15-minute spell.
He scored his second five minutes before half time to virtually seal victory.
Recalled flanker Cobus Grobbelaar crossed in the 65th for the Lions’ only points but South Africa’s Currie Cup champions slipped to a fifth straight defeat since beating the Cheetahs in the opening round.
The Cheetahs have won three from seven, while John Mitchell’s Lions fall to the bottom of the overall standings with a 1-5 record after losing out in the battle of South Africa’s bottom two teams.
Goosen sent a massive 65-metre penalty attempt just wide in the seventh minute, but opened the scoring with another in the 20th after a frenetic end-to-end start in Bloemfontein.
Ebersohn touched down in the 22nd when a poor kick by the Lions’ Deon van Rensburg was scooped up by frontrower WP Nel and the Cheetahs quickly moved the ball wide from the breakdown for the outside centre to straighten up and carve through the defence for the opening try.
Goosen was again on target in the 27th and the 30th minutes to give the Cheetahs 16 points in 10 minutes against a struggling Lions outfit.
Winger Willie le Roux darted through a hole off a ruck and sent the supporting Ebersohn away for his second just before the break as the Cheetahs took complete control on their return home after a four-match tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Lions winger Andries Coetzee was denied a try in the left corner in the 64th when his boot brushed the touchline at the same time as he grounded the ball. The desperate Lions had a mountain of possession in the second half but couldn’t make it tell.
The Lions did finally register points a minute later when replacement scrumhalf Michael Bondesio broke from the back of a lineout and found Grobbelaar free on his inside.
But Goosen’s replacement Sias Ebersohn slotted a penalty goal in the 69th and the Lions had no answer, giving the Cheetahs a successful return to South Africa.
