Johannesburg - Free State Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske has praised his players as "special" following their stunning 23-21 Absa Currie Cup semifinal victory over the Sharks on Saturday.
The Bloemfontein team suffered four consecutive defeats in the opening rounds of the competition, but booked their place in the final after coming back from behind to defeat the reigning champions at the Absa Stadium in Durban.
"If we lose the final, it won't be a great comeback like that," said Drotske.
"This win is incredibly special to us. I was telling the players in the change room that it's been one of my career highlights. After four weeks in the Currie Cup, we only had one point, and we were sharing the bottom of the log with the Platinum Leopards.
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'We were outplayed by a better team' "That we came together and got it right again means we've got some special players."
While Drotske applauded the efforts of his team, flyhalf Jacques Louis Potgieter was the star performer for the visitors on the day.
The Cheetahs pivot, who kicked the winning drop goal in the 79th minute of play, added 18 of the Bloemfontein side's 23 points by scoring a try and kicking two conversions and two penalties. Prop WP Nel was the other try-scorer for the visitors.
The Sharks held a commanding 15-3 half-time lead thanks to tries by fullback Stefan Terblanche and scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, who also kicked a penalty and converted his try before the before.
In the second half Argentinean flyhalf kicked a drop goal shortly after the restart with the hosts' only other points in the match coming thanks to a penalty kick by Pienaar.
'It's not the fairytale ending' After the match, Sharks coach John Plumtree admitted that his team were defeated by the better team on the day.
"We were outplayed by a better team," admitted Plumtree.
"They wanted it more.
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