Cheetahs 15 Force 16

Matt Giteau kicked a last-gasp penalty to give the Western Force a dramatic 16-15 Super 14 rugby win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Five-eighth Giteau scored all 16 points to ensure the Force won their first game following the sacking of his long-standing friend Matt Henjak just over 12 hours earlier.

The Force dominated possession for much of the game, but were thwarted by errors at critical moments combined with strong defence from the Cheetahs, who made double the amount of tackles.

The Force trailed 12-10 at halftime despite dominating possession for much of the first 40 minutes.

Cheetahs fullback Hennie Daniller rounded off a sweeping cross-field move to score the opening try in the sixth minute.

The Force hit back to lead 10-7 after the first quarter with five-eighth Giteau scoring all the points.

The Wallabies back converted his own try in the ninth minute after he looped around lock and skipper Nathan Sharpe and then kicked a short-range penalty.

The Cheetahs hit the front foot against the run of play on the half hour when they splintered the Force scrum on the visitor's 22.

The Force lost the ball on their own feed and when it popped out from the scrum, Cheetahs flanker Heinrich Brussow pounced and fended off Giteau to register the home teams' second try.

The Cheetahs ended the half on the front foot with five-eighth Jacques-Louis Potgieter held up over the line.

Giteau nudged the Force ahead 13-12 with a 41 metre penalty in the 55th minute after Cheetahs replacement Conrad Barnard came onto the field before a stoppage in play.

Giteau missed with another penalty with Force winger Nick Cummins knocking on from the restart, before Barnard redeemed himself by restoring the Cheetahs' lead with a penalty.

Force fullback Drew Mitchell, who made several penetrating runs, was held up in the 72nd minute and the Force remained alive after Barnard missed a penalty inside the final minute.

The away team then kept the ball alive for almost three minutes and, despite the suspicion of a forward pass, maintained possession and pressured the Cheetahs into conceding a penalty, which Giteau coolly slotted.

"The guys really stuck to their guns and we spoke about it as they had that shot at goal and I thought we might be a chance if he missed it and thankfully he did," Force captain and Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe said.

"The boys took the right options and we kept our patience there and finally we got the penalty.

"It's heartbreak for the Cheetahs I'm sure, but at the same time we played some good football tonight and it was just reward for the boys I think.

"After last week's performance, we stepped up a gear.

"We're five points after two games on a tough road trip, so we're pretty happy."

WESTERN FORCE 16 (Matt Giteau try, 3 pens, con) bt CENTRAL CHEETAHS 15 (Hennie Daniller, Heinrich Brussow tries; Conrad Barnard pen; Jacques-Louis Potgieter con) at Bloemfontein.

AAP