Airlink Pumas clip the Eagles’ wings in George
The Airlink Pumas have got the first SA Cup season off the best possible start, downing the SWD Eagles 43-22 at Outeniqua Park on Friday March 22.
The SWD Eagles proved no match for the Airlink Pumas in both sides’ first match of the inaugural SA Cup, when a dominant performance by the men from the Lowveld ensured a resounding victory.
The Pumas went into the encounter off the back of a pre-season that offered them mixed success with three wins from five matches, including a tight win over the Sharks in Durban.
Armed with plenty of lessons and a burning desire to kick off the new season on as high a note as possible, the Pumas travelled to George for the clash with the SWD Eagles on Friday March 22.
With the sun shining down on Outeniqua Park, the Pumas were swift with piling on the pressure in the first half, despite some resilience from the home side.
Hard work at scrum time from the Pumas and unforced errors from the Eagles meant that the Mbombela outfit was consistently able to enjoy significant territorial advantage with a number of line-outs inside the Eagles’ 22m area.
The Pumas were sure to make use of this territorial gain and managed to dot down no fewer than five tries in the first half. Having already secured a bonus point, the Pumas went into the break with a 31-3 leading. Determined to give the home fans something to cheer for, the Eagles put on a much better performance in the second half.
A change in approach by adopting a faster and swifter style of play helped the SWD Eagles battle back to a 36-22 scoreline with 15 minutes left to play. However, the Pumas defence stood firm in the final stages of the game and didn’t allow the Eagles to score any more points. One more try for the Airlink Pumas was the final nail in the coffin as they emerged the victors with 43-22.
The resounding victory will undoubtedly hold a wide variety of positives for the Pumas, who are in action at home for the first time this season on Friday March 29. They will take on Eastern Province in a bid to continue their perfect start to the inaugural SA Cup.
The SA Cup is being introduced for the first time this year and will give SA rugby fans a taste of what can be expected from the competition next year, when it becomes a qualifier for the Currie Cup Premier Division.
This will not be the case this year, however, as the SA Cup will not count as qualifying for the Currie Cup, which will remain in its regular format for 2024. The qualifying format will only take effect from 2025 onwards.
