Nico Lee scored a stunning hat-trick to help the Toyota Cheetahs to a comprehensive victory over the Southern Kings and keep up the pressure on Munster in Conference A.

In a fast-paced first half it was the Cheetahs who were first to score through full-back Clayton Blommetjies, but the Kings responded immediately with Yaw Penxe’s searing try.

Lee and Shaun Venter then touched down before the break for the away side, and the bonus point was secured just after half-time when Lee grabbed his second.

Eital Bredenkamp got the Kings back in it and a penalty try then threatened a comeback, but Lee incredibly struck for the third time, with the Cheetahs down to 13 men, and Jacques Du Toit added a sixth to put the result beyond doubt.

The game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium started at frenetic pace, with Makazole Mapimpi displaying his electric speed inside five minutes, eventually leading to Blommetjies’ try – the full-back throwing a lovely dummy to get himself over.

But the Kings had their own tricky full-back and two minutes later Penxe stormed over the tryline, coming on to the ball at pace and dummying his way through a gap in the opposition defence.

Minutes later Kings prop Pieter Scholtz was penalised for not rolling away and Fred Zeilinga put the visitors 10-7 up with a straightforward kick.

20 minutes in the Cheetahs scored their second try, with Lee going over from close range and Zeilinga again adding the extras.

The visitors dominated at the breakdown and kept the Kings pinned back with some excellent tactical kicking, including, surprisingly, a monster clearance from second-row Reniel Hugo.

The Cheetahs’ third try came from the hands of scrum-half Venter, with the half-back barging through three tackles to touch down just next to the posts on minute 32.

The home side rallied just before the break with a succession of drives almost gaining a crucial try before the interval, but after half-time Lee finished off an interception try to secure the bonus point for the Cheetahs.

The Kings were in no mood to submit though and roared back ten minutes later when a period of intense pressure saw back-row Bredenkamp touch the ball down following Schalk Ferreira’s drive.

As the hosts piled on the pressure, Cheetahs’ Charles Morais saw yellow whilst attempting to stop a drive, with the Kings registering their third try soon after with a penalty try

Cheetahs replacement Junior Pokomela also saw yellow in the act of conceding the score, leaving his side with 13 men for the final 10 minutes of the game.

But it mattered not, with the Conference A side marching downfield for Lee to complete his hat-trick from short range before Du Toit completed the scoring with the Cheetahs’ sixth try.

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