Jack Crowley shines again as Emerging Ireland tame the Cheetahs 

Ireland's Robert Baloucoune and Jack Crowley with Siya Masuku of Cheetahs

Emerging Ireland 21 Cheetahs 14

A defiant defensive display enabled Emerging Ireland to finish their tour to South Africa with a gutsy 21-14 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

Following on from wins over the Griquas and Pumas, there is no doubt the trip to South Africa will be viewed as a highly productive tour as a host of players were exposed to different opposition in some challenging conditions.

Several young players such as Nathan Doak, Tom Ahern, Robert Baloucoune, Cian Prendergast, Shane Daly and James Culhane certainly enhanced their reputations, while flyhalf Jack Crowley was also one of the big individual ‘winners’ from the tour.

Indeed, it was very interesting to hear the South African commentators rave about Crowley, referring to the Munster man as a rising successor to Johnny Sexton.

It was also Ahern who served as the chief disruptor on the Cheetahs’ lineout ball on Sunday, with Emerging Ireland’s dominance in this area somewhat offsetting their struggles at scrum time.

Prior to this clash, Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie had exclusively told the Irish Examiner that they aimed to protect possession and test the defence of the tourists.

That intent was clear to see early on as the Cheetahs camped in Irish territory and enjoyed plenty of the ball, but some basic errors ultimately scuppered a series of prime attacking opportunities.

By contrast, Emerging Ireland scored from one of their first meaningful forays into the opposition 22 when Doak burrowed over the tryline in the 20th minute.

From there, though, ill-discipline started to creep in for the visitors as they came under pressure, with Prendergast receiving a yellow card for a cynical breakdown penalty, while Joe McCarthy followed him to the sin bin soon after due to repeated infringements.

As momentum shifted in favour of the Cheetahs, the hosts also began to dominate at scrum time, duly earning a penalty try from this set piece as the scores were drawn level before half-time.

Soon after the restart, Daly eventually broke the points-scoring deadlock with a stunning solo try that came slightly against the run of play. That was another significant turning point as the Irish then turned on the style with a stunning set-play from a lineout near the halfway mark, which eventually ended in a try to Jamie Osbourne after a stunning sequence of interplay sparked by the ever-elusive Robert Baloucoune.

That suddenly pushed the score out to 21-7 on the hour mark, and despite conceding another yellow card and penalty try before full-time, the Irish defence once again stood firm under immense pressure late in the game.

Points scorers Cheetahs: Tries - Penalty try (2).

Emerging Ireland: Tries - Nathan Doak, Shane Daly, Jamie Osbourne. Conversions: Jack Crowley (3).

CHEETAHS: C Jasper, D Kasende, R Ebersohn, F Steyn, T Mafura, S Masuku, R Pienaar; S Ferreira, M van der Merwe, M Coetzee, R Bernardo, V Sekekete (C), J Rudolph, F Olivier, O Mohoje.

Replacements: L van der Westhuizen, C Dawson, H van Wyk, M Zito, S Qomo, R Kruger, R Fortuin, E Brandt.

EMERGING IRELAND: S Daly (Munster/Cork Constitution), C Nash (Munster/Young Munster), J Osbourne (Leinster/Naas), S Moore (Ulster/Malone), R Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen), J Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution), N Doak (Ulster/Banbridge); M Milne (Leinster/UCD), T Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch), T Clarkson (Leinster/Dublin University), J McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University), T Ahern (Munster/Shannon), C Prendergast (Connacht) J Hodnett (Munster/UCC), M Deegan (Leinster/Lansdowne) (c) 

Replacements: D Barron (Munster/Garryowen), J Wycherley (Munster/Young Munster), R Salanoa (Munster/Shannon), B Deeny (Leinster/Clontarf), J Culhane (Leinster/UCD), B Murphy (Leinster/Clontarf), C Forde (Connacht), C Mullins (Connacht/IQ Rugby)