Luan de Bruin scored a last-gasp try to help Toyota Cheetahs edge a 24-17 victory over Isuzu Southern Kings in the Guinness PRO14, extending their unbeaten run against their South African rivals to eight games across all competitions.

Cheetahs were 7-0 in front at half-time thanks to an early try from Rabz Maxwane, but Kings pushed the Conference A side all the way in a pulsating encounter at Madibaz Stadium.

Kings produced a 17-point second-half resurgence but fell agonisingly short to clinching their second win of their league campaign.

The win moves the Cheetahs back into contention for a place in the Guinness PRO14 Finals Series, while the Kings remain rooted to the bottom of Conference B.

Deon Davids made six changes to his Southern Kings side that lost to Edinburgh two weeks ago, while Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith named an unchanged line-up from the trip to Zebre.

Cheetahs raced into an early lead when Tian Schoeman laid the ball off to Maxwane – the competition’s leading try-scorer – who used his explosive pace to cross for his ninth try of the campaign.

The visitors looked in trouble when captain Tian Meyer was binned in the 17th minute, but the Kings failed to capitalise on their one-man advantage as Cheetahs continued to dominate possession.

But the home side managed to stem the flow and denied Cheetahs any further scores for the next 25 minutes of rugby and the scoreline remained 7-0 right up until the clock ticked into the red.

Kings brought themselves back into the game just moments into the second-half when Ntabeni Dukisa went over and Masixole Banda added the conversion.

But the visitors responded immediately when Ox Nche drove through the Kings’ defence to find Pokomela who crossed and Schoeman converted to restore their seven-point lead.

The home side hit back through a Banda penalty to cut the deficit to three points, but they were unable to build on their early second-half pressure as they struggled to break down the Cheetahs’ backline.

Benhard Janse van Rensburg scored a penalty to extend the visitors’ lead in a back-and-forth second-half between the two South African sides.

As the clock ticked down, both teams became increasingly desperate to secure the win and it was the Kings who were rewarded for their tenacity when they won a late penalty try, drawing the score level with just six minutes left to play.

But David’s side were denied their first ever draw against Cheetahs as De Bruin grabbed his second try of the game in the final seconds.