Pumas hammer clueless Lions
CURRIE CUP REPORT: The Pumas recorded their first win of the season with an emphatic 50-9 win over the Lions at Ellis Park on Wednesday.
The Pumas scored seven tries to none for the bonus-point win in Johannesburg.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!
The win is the Pumas’ third successive win over the Lions.
While for the Lions, the result is their second defeat of the season following their 36-48 loss to the Western Province in Cape Town.
The visitors were in incredible form, outplaying the young and inexperienced Lions in every area of the game.
The display will certainly be a big concern for Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi .
The visitors showed their dominance in the opening half by scoring three tries for a 24-6 lead at the break.
They then completely dominated the second half, outscoring and physically outplaying the hosts by 26-3 and dotting down four more times.
The Lowvelders’ pack were ruthless in their execution and played to their strengths, with the last three tries coming through driving play by the forwards. The young Lions side had no answer to the physical dominance of the Pumas and were totally outplayed, especially in the second half.
The first points of the match came via the boot of Pumas flyhalf Tinus de Beer, who kicked his side ahead after 14 minutes. Phumzile Maqondwana, who led the visitors, broke through a tackle and ran well and when he was stopped near the hosts’ line, the Lions strayed offside. De Beer stepped up to do the rest.
Under pressure, the home side were behind their poles two minutes later. They lost possession due to a wild pass in the Pumas’ 22 and the visitors gladly accepted, with fullback Devon Williams running more than half the field to score under the sticks. De Beer converted for a 10-0 lead after 17 minutes.
Lions pivot Vaughen Isaacs slotted a long range effort to get the hosts on the board ten minutes later, but their joy was short lived as the Pumas struck back with a try by flank Daniel Maartens to extend their lead to 17-3 after 30 minutes, with De Beer slotting the conversion from a difficult angle.
Isaacs kicked a second penalty goal from straight in front to cut the lead just before the break after the Lions won a scrum penalty.
But there was still enough time for the visitors to score their third try before the break. The Pumas forced an attacking lineout and their pack drove over the line with hooker Corné Fourie getting up with the ball. De Beer easily slotted his third conversion to give the Nelspruit side a handy and well-deserved lead.
It was the home side who started the second half strongly and Isaacs landed another penalty goal two minutes in to reduce the lead to 24-9, however, they once more allowed their visitors to score straight from the kick-off. This time it was De Beer who saw a gap and ran in untouched for another try, securing the Pumas’ bonus-point in the process.
However, the game then deteriorated as both coaches emptied the bench, and the heat became a factor as well. The Pumas regrouped best with replacement prop Simon Raw bulldozing his way over the whitewash to extend their lead to 27 points with 15 minutes to play.
That was soon extended to 34 points after replacement hooker Llewellyn Classen followed Raw’s example and barged over after a number of forward drives by the pack.
Brandon Valentyn scored the final try of the match, again off the back of a couple of powerful lineout drives, a try that confirmed the total domination of the Pumas pack.
Man of the match: Former Lions forward Corne Fourie put in a solid performance for the Pumas. While Lucky Dlepu, Phumzile Maqondwana (captain) and Daniel Maartens all deserve a mention. However, our nod goes to Pumas flyhalf Tinus de Beer, who dictated the match really well. He missed one kick but added 13 point to the teams tally.
The scorers:
For Lions:
Pens: Isaacs 3
For Pumas:
Tries: Williams, Maartens, Fourie, De Beer, Raw, Valentyn, Classen
Cons: De Beer 6
Pen: De Beer
Teams:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Tyler Bocks, 11 Zeilinga Strydom, 10 Vaughen Isaacs, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Mark Snyman, 5 Lunga Ncube, 4 Peter-John Steenkamp, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (captain), 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Banele Mthenjane.
Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Sibusiso Shongwe, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 MJ Pelser, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 James Tedder, 23 James Mollentze.
Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Sebastian de Klerk, 12 Aliqhayiya Mgijima, 11 Lundi Msenge, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Lucky Dlepu, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana (captain), 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Corne Fourie, 1 Ruan Kramer.
Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Simon Raw, 19 Brandon Valentyne, 20 Khwezi Mafu, 21 Giovan Snyman, 22 Alwayno Visagie, 23 Andries Viljoen.
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper, Local
TMO: AJ Jacobs
