The Free State Cheetahs produced a comeback of monumental proportions to knock the Sharks out of the Currie Cup competition in dramatic fashion - a 23-21 win in the semifinal in Durban on Saturday.

This continues a trend of the past decade where the Sharks look like world beaters, topping the table, only to stumble in the play-offs.

The Cheetahs, who lost their first four matches of the season and only sneaked into the play-offs courtesy of the Sharks beating Griquas in the final round, made the Final against all odds - something that is not new to them.

And they also came back from trailing 3-15 at the break, and 3-18 two minutes into the second half, to score two brilliant second half tries and then seal it with a Jacques-Louis Potgieter drop-goal with just over a minute left on the clock.

The Cheetahs, who dominated possession and territory for most of the match, looked to have handed the game to a Sharks team making the decisive plays.

Errors of judgment seemed the Cheetahs' biggest bane, but they showed the character of true champions to keep fighting back and in the end securing the points that will see them play in the Final on October 31.

The Cheetahs laid their marker down in the scrums, where the unheralded Wian du Preez and WP Nel dominated against the all-Springbok front row of Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and John Smit.

The Sharks' scrum was under tremendous pressure throughout and the home team often got the ball on the back foot.

While the Cheetahs appeared to have paid the price for not having an experienced hooker on the bench - as Ashley Johnson, for all his worth, lacked the accuracy at line-out time - they more than made up for it art the breakdown.

Here the master poacher, Heinrich Brussow, secured a number of crucial turnovers.

The first scoring opportunity went to the Cheetahs, who earned a penalty after a line-out steal and a Sharks player going offside at the tackle situation. Jacques-Louis Potgieter had no trouble with the kick at goal and gave his team a 3-0 lead after six minutes.

And another penalty soon afterwards - with the Cheetahs dominating possession and Ashley Johnson making good ground - saw the men from Bloemfontein set up a line-out five metres from the Sharks line. However, Bismarck du Plessis turned the ball over and Juan Hernandez could clear his lines.

The Cheetahs were made to pay for the tactical error, in not going for posts, as the Sharks soon launched a blistering raid into the visitors territory - with Odwa Ndungane shrugging off a half-hearted attempt at a tackle from Johnson, before a kick ahead bounced favourably for Sharks captain Stefan Terblanche. The call went to the TMO, who had a good look before ruling that there was "no clear evidence of a knock-on" and the try stood. Ruan Pienaar couldn't convert, but the Cheetahs had a 5-3 lead after 10 minutes.

Despite fluffing a few early chances, the Cheetahs continued to press hard and kept the ball in hand, winning a penalty in the 18th minute, which Potgieter pushed wide.

Minutes later Steven Sykes was penalised for coming in at the side of a ruck, but again Potgieter was wide of the target. He also failed with an attempted drop-goal in the 26th minute.

At this stage the Sharks also lost Bok wing Odwa Ndungane with a knee injury. It happened early and he bravely tried to stay on, but it was clear that he was in pain and was not at his best.

The Cheetahs were also forced to reshuffle their pack, with hooker Richardt Strauss leaving the field for a blood-bin repair, No.8 Ashley Johnson moving to the front row and Lukas Floors coming on as a loose forward. But Strauss returned after just five minutes, restoring the normal selection of the pack.

The Sharks eventually managed to stretch their lead to 8-3, after Cheetahs scrumhalf JP Joubert was penalised for offside and Ruan Pienaar slotted the penalty from close range.

And they also produced the next score, a try which looked to have killed off the Cheetahs' challenge, as JP Pietersen handed off JP Joubert and put Jacques Botes away, with the flank passing inside to a flying Ruan Pienaar for a crucial score. Pienaar added the conversion and the Sharks took a commanding 12-point (15-3) lead into the break.

Richardt Strauss was replaced permanently at half-time and Johnson made the switch to the front row. And it appeared the Cheetahs were paying the price for not having an experienced hooker on the bench - Johnson is in the process of being converted - as his first throw of the second half was blown up for being skew.

The Cheetahs' trouble mounted as Hernandez slotted a sweetly-struck drop-goal to make the lead 18-3 after 43 minutes.

However, the Cheetahs eventually won a penalty - as the Sharks went off their feet at a ruck - and the referee gave the Sharks a stern talking to for repeated and deliberate infringements in the strike zone (inside the Sharks 22).

Potgieter slotted the penalty and at 6-18 there was a glimmer of hope for the visitors.

The Cheetahs, despite a few wasted chances, continued to bash away at the Sharks and they earned rich reward when prop WP Nel barrelled his way over in a bundle of bodies. The call went to the TMO, who had little trouble in awarding the score. Potgieter's conversion made it 13-18 and the Cheetahs were well and truly back in contention.

And the Cheetahs continued to dominate territory and possession. However, with tempers flaring and the tension rising, the Sharks won a relieving penalty.

It was now - as all play-off matches are - about inches and moments.

And one of those moments came in the 59th minute, when Ruan Pienaar threw a poor pass, with Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter snapping up the bouncing ball and sprinted 60 metres for his team's second try. The conversion gave the Cheetahs a two-point (20-18) lead - the first time in the game they hit the front.

That lead lasted just a few minute, as a Ruan Pienaar penalty took the Sharks ahead (21-20) going into the final quarter - the penalty coming at the breakdown.

Hernandez tried to stretch the lead, but his drop-goal attempt in the 65th was both well wide of the mark. The same happened to Stefan Terblanche two minutes later, Adi Jacobs in the 73rd minute and Monty Dumond in the 74th minute, as the Sharks were looking to take the margin beyond just one score.

While the Sharks played a tactically astute game and began to enjoy a territorial advantage, the Cheetahs' lack of experience in key positions showed a- as they panicked and made critical errors.

With five minutes left on the clock Monty Dumond had a penalty shot at goal, but that was also short and wide, as the Cheetahs became increasingly more desperate to get out of their half and into strike range.

The Cheetahs had an attacking line-out two minutes from time and after a few phases Jacques-Louis Potgieter landed a brilliant struck drop-goal - with a number of Sharks charging down on him - to put his team back in the lead - 23-21.

And the men from Bloemfontein then held on for a famous win.

Man of the match: Sharks wing JP Pietersen became very involved as the game progressed and made some crucial plays, while Argentinean import Juan Hernandez have also found his Currie Cup feet - as he played the perfect tactical game. The Cheetahs' front row of WP Nel, Richardt Strauss (later Ashley Johnson) and Wian du Preez dominated the scrums and deserves more than an honourable mention, while Johnson also made a number of forceful runs. There there was Heinrich Brussow, the turnover master. However, our award goes to Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter - who produced a brilliant all round display and two match-winning scores.

Moment of the match: There are two here, both by Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter. First there was Potgieter's try in the 59th minute, as he pounced a stray pass by Ruan Pienaar to run 60 metres for a crucial try and then his match-winning drop-goal in the 79th minute.

Villain of the match: It was brutal and typical Currie Cup rugby, but nothing worthy of an award of this nature.

The scorers:

For the Sharks:
Tries: Terblanche, Pietersen
Con: Pienaar
Pens: Pienaar 2
DG: Hernandez

For the Free State Cheetahs:
Tries: Nel, Potgieter
Cons: Potgieter 2
Pens: Potgieter 2
DG: Potgieter

Teams:

The Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche (captain), 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Juan Hernandez, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 John Smit, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Monty Dumond, 22 Andries Strauss.

Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Corne Uys, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Danwel Demas, 10 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 9 JP Joubert, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Frans Viljoen, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 David de Villiers, 4 Nico Breedt (captain), 3 WP Nel, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Coenie Oosthuizen, 17 Izak van der Westhuizen, 18 Hendro Scholtz, 19 Lukas Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Louis Strydom, 22 Fabian Juries.