The iCollege Pumas got off to a brilliant start to the Currie Cup season with a 42-19 demolition of the Tafel Lager Griquas at Mbombela Stadium on Friday night. With the Currie Cup just a single round of six matches for each team, every win is vital, as are the bonus points.

The home team bagged the victory and the bonus point, which puts their Currie Cup semi-final destiny firmly in their hands. The Pumas showed almost no between-tournament rust while Griquas were a shadow of the team they were in the SuperSport Rugby Challenge final five weeks earlier.

Chris Smith put the iCollege Pumas 3-0 up after three minutes with an offside penalty. The home team never relinquished the lead and were always in control of the game.
The Pumas were dominant but not totally clinical in the first half. Smith added another three points before Stefan Ungerer popped a pass into the gap a metre from the try line and Hennie Skorbinski scored the 2018 Currie Cup’s first try.

Griquas hit back three minutes later when full back, AJ Coetzen, scored a try thanks to slow defence from the Pumas’ backs.

A George Whitehead conversion took the half-time score to 13-7.
If the Pumas were warming up in the first half, they were steaming hot in the second. They outclassed the Griquas by four tries to two. The boys in pink played with pace and precision and the visitors could not cope with what was thrown at them.

Two tries within minutes of each other showed that the Pumas were thinking out of the box and keen on creating something out of very little. Fifteen minutes into the half, Whitehead attempted to chip-kick the ball out of the Griquas 22. Smith read the play beautifully, charged the kick down, gathered possession and went over to score. Then Neil Maritz chased and collected a Stefan Ungerer up-and-under and sprinted to the try line for a spectacular try.

Griquas Liam Hendriks was yellow carded for a cynical foul shortly afterwards.
The Pumas scored 29 unanswered points between the 42nd and 62nd minute.
The Griquas did lift their game and scored two late tries.
This victory is the biggest the Pumas have ever scored against this team.
The home pack scrummed exceptionally well, winning numerous scrum penalties. The lineouts were solid and the Pumas were certainly the fitter team.
Smith scored 22 points, succeeding with eight out of nine attempts at goal.
The greatest positives for the boys in pink were the pace at which they played and the creativity and adventurousness of their game plan. They were keen to dazzle with the ball.

If this is the brand of rugby that the Pumas will be playing, hopefully more than the 1 340 who attended the match on Friday will start giving the team the support they deserve.
The iCollege Pumas’ next match is against Western Province at Mbombela Stadium on Friday August 31, on Mpumalanga Show weekend.

Scorers
Pumas
Tries: Hennie Skorbinski, Stefan Ungerer, Chris Smith, Neil Maritz, Marnus Schoeman
Conversions: Smith 4
Penalties: Smith 3
Griquas
Tries: AJ Coertzen, Christiaan Meyer, Conway Pretorius
Conversions: George Whitehead 2.

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Photos by Stefan de Villiers