Cape Town - An extraordinary 87th minute penalty try handed the Cheetahs a dramatic victory over the Cardiff Blues in their PRO14 clash in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Cheetahs won 29-27 after leading 22-6 at half-time.

The win helped the consolidate the Cheetahs' third place in Conference A and they now enjoy a nine-point lead over the fourth-placed Blues.

Only the top three teams in each conference qualify for the six-team playoffs, which include two semi-final qualifiers.

Kick-off was pushed out by more than three hours after the Blues only arrived in Bloemfontein on Friday afternoon after flight delays resulted in an incredible 55-hour journey from the UK to South Africa for the Blues, who then had to wait until the day of the match to receive their luggage, which contained the team's kit.

The Cheetahs' next match is against Munster on Friday, April 13 at 19:34.

Scorers:

Cheetahs

Tries: Sibhale Maxane (2), Francois Venter, penalty try

Conversions: Niel Marais (2)

Penalty: Marais

Cardiff Blues

Tries: Owen Lane, Willis Halaholo, Rey Lee-Lo

Conversions: Steven Shingler (3)

Penalties: Gareth Anscombe (2)

Teams:

Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 William Small-Smith, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Sibhale Maxane, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 AJ Coertzen

Cardiff Blues

15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Owen Lane, 10 Gareth Anscombe (captain), 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rhys Gill

Substitutes: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Rey Lee-Lo