Tinus de Beer of the Pumas is tackled by Henco Venter of the Sharks during the Currie Cup, Premier Division semi final match between Sharks and Pumas at Hollywoodbets Kings Park. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Pumas will face the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein next weekend after beating the Sharks 26-20 in a thrilling Kings Park clash on Saturday evening.
A second-half maul try from hooker PJ Jacobs was enough for the Pumas to see out a 14-man Sharks for a 26-20 semi-final victory at Kings Park.
The Pumas were full value for their win, as they got off to a flying start and only relinquished their lead for a brief period in the second half.
Tries from loosehead prop Corne Fourie, who scored in the first play of the match, and tighthead Simon Raw saw the Pumas go 12-0 up in the first half.
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While the Sharks used the power of their pack to fight back, they went into the break trailing by two points.
The second half was turned into a defensive dogfight, while both teams lost a player to the sin bin for dangerous tackles.
The Sharks suffered a major blow when inside centre Alwayno Visagie was red-carded after colliding with Pumas wing Etienne Taljaard in the air.
Still, the hosts were given a late opportunity to win the match through a Pumas error, but the visitors defended for over 20 phases and eventually forced Lionel Cronje into touch to claim the win.
This story was first published on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.