Pumas hope to defend their title in Bloem

The last fixture of this year’s Currie Cup will be decided on Saturday June 24 when the Airlink Pumas will line up in Bloemfontein against the Toyota Cheetahs.

The day will start early, with the gates opening at 11:00 already, and the rugby action will kick off with a curtain-raiser between the women sides of the Free State and SWD Eagles at 12:00. The women’s teams will set the scene at Toyota Stadium for what promises to be a nail-biting catfight between these two rugby unions.

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The defending champions are again on the same mission they accomplished in 2022 when they won the cup for the first time in their history. The Pumas had to win an away semi-final to qualify for the final in 2022; they did. They achieved the same this year with a 26-20 win against the Sharks. Then the Pumas had to beat the Griquas in Kimberley to win the 2022 Currie Cup final.

The Pumas finished their last captain’s run of the Currie Cup season on Friday morning, June 23, and left Mbombela in high spirits with their sights firmly set on one thing: to repeat history once again!

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Hawies Fourie, head coach of the Cheetahs, opted to make one change to his starting line-up ahead of the finals. Nqobisizwe Moxoli replaces Schalk van der Merwe, who was sidelined due to a concussion.

Whereas on the other side, coach Jimmy Stonehouse kept his team exactly the same, hoping they would be able to replicate their semi-final performance against the Cell C Sharks.

Tickets for the game are R200 for the main stand, R150 for the open stand, and R50 for kids. They are available online at www.ticketpro.co.za or at the ticket office in Toyota Stadium.

Toyota Cheetahs

1. Nqobisizwe Moxoli
2. Marnus van der Merwe
3. Conraad van Vuuren
4. Rynier Bernardo
5. Victor Sekekete (c)
6. Gideon van der Merwe
7. Siba Qoma
8. Friedle Olivier
9. Rewan Kruger
10. Ruan Pienaar
11. Cohen Jasper
12. Reinhardt Fortuin
13. David Brits
14. Daniel Kasende
15. Tapiwa Mafura

16. Louis van der Westhuizen
17. Alulutho Tshakweni
18. Hencus van Wyk
19. Jeandre Rudolph
20. George Cronje
21. Daniel Maartens
22. Siya Masuku
23. Robert Ebersohn

Airlink Pumas

1. Corné Fourie
2. PJ Jacobs
3. Simon Raw
4. Deon Slabbert
5. Shane Kirkwood (c)
6. André Fouché
7. Francois Kleinhans
8. Kwanda Dimaza
9. Chriswill September
10. Tinus de Beer
11. Etienne Taljaard
12. Ali Mgijima
13. Diego Appolis
14. Andrew Kota
15. Devon Williams

16. Darnell Osuagwu
17. Etienne Janeke
18. Dewald Maritz
19. Malembe Mpofu
20. Ruwald van der Merwe
21. Giovan Snyman
22. Gene Willemse
23. Wian van Niekerk

The referee for the match is Cwengile Jadezweni. He will be assisted by AJ Jacobs and Stephan Geldenhuys. The TMO is Egon Seconds.