Pumas run riot against Griquas at Mbombela Stadium
The Pumas will face the Sharks at 15:00 on August 3, and are determined to once again make their supporters proud.
The Airlink Pumas demolished the Suzuki Griquas 66-26 at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday afternoon, July 28.
The Pumas were at their sublime best in the Carling Currie Cup and the visitors had no answer to their slick attacking play.
The high-scoring affair delivered 13 tries and 92 points. The team from Mpumalanga had a 28-14 half-time advantage and turned on the heat in the second half for a comfortable victory, scoring nine tries in the process while restricting the visitors to four. They dominated all aspects of the game and forced the Griquas to play at their pace with solid set pieces and total domination of possession and territory.
The Griquas were outthought, outpowered and outpaced by a slick Pumas team. The hard work on the training field was evident, much to the delight of a sizable contingent of Pumas supporters who arrived on the Sunday afternoon.
Airlink Pumas inside centre Clinton Swart delivered a polished performance for the home side as he scored twice, succeeding with all nine conversions and a penalty goal for a personal tally of 31 points, more than the Griquas’ match total.
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The stats reflected the Pumas’ dominance. The home team made 129 passes to the Griquas’ 121. They executed 15 offloads to the visitors’ seven. The Airlink Pumas won five out of five scrums, the Griquas five out of six. The home team succeeded in 79% of their tackles, while the Griquas’ success rate was 75%. The Pumas had two ball steals, the Griquas none.
After four rounds of the Currie Cup, the Vodacom Bulls top the log on 18 points. The Cheetahs and Pumas are both on 15 points, with the Free Staters in second place with a superior points difference. The Mbombela-based team have scored 23 tries, second to the Toyota Cheetahs on 25 tries.
Swart is the leading points scorer after four rounds, with a total of 63. He and teammate Darren Adonis are also joint second in the try-scoring stakes on four, along with Angelo Davids of DHL Western Province. Celimpilo Gumede of the Hollywoodbets Sharks is the leading try scorer on five.
The Pumas will face the Sharks in a Currie Cup match at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday August 3 at 15:00. The Airlink Pumas defeated the Sharks 31-22 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on July 19.
