Cardiff Blues effectively kept alive its faint hopes of making the Pro14 play-offs with a 25-20 home victory over the Cheetahs on Sunday (AEDT).

The Blues began the game 16 points behind their opponents, who occupy the third qualifying place in Conference A, but reduced that deficit to 12 with a narrow victory.

With seven rounds of the season to go, Cardiff still has much ground to make up, but defeat in this match would surely have ended any hopes it had of extending its domestic season.

Nick Williams was the star performer as the Blues moved above Connacht into fourth, the back-row forward claiming his side's third try after Rey Lee-Lo and Ellis Jenkins had crossed in the first half.

Tries from Ox Nche and Uzair Cassiem proved in vain for the Cheetahs, who have suffered five of their six defeats this season on the road.

In the other fixture, Munster cemented its hold on second place in Conference A, pulling seven points clear of the Cheetahs courtesy of a 33-5 win against Zebre. Sam Arnold claimed two of the Irish province's five tries.