Final face-off: Pienaar v De Beer
SPOTLIGHT: Sir Donald Currie’s donation to South Africa is the main attraction, but there is some intriguing sideshows at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.
The Cheetahs host the Pumas in the Final of South Africa’s premier domestic competition and being crowned Currie Cup champions for 2023 is the paramount objective.
However, for a priceless sideshow, look no further than the flyhalf face-off between veteran Springbok Ruan Pienaar and seasoned pivot Marthinus Herbert de Beer.
They are the two game drivers and will hold the key to exuberant celebration or melancholy after (or more) brutal minutes.
Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie admitted that Pienaar’s value to the team increased significantly with his shift to flyhalf.
“He is running the show, making the decision and executing them,” the coach said about the veteran Bok.
“There is a lot more calmness and decisiveness in our backline with Ruan at No.10.”
Fourie admitted the decision to shift Pienaar to flyhalf has made a significant difference to the team’s fortunes.
“He [Pienaar] and [captain] Victor [Sekekete] are the two main leaders in the team.
“They have done a good job throughout the season to get us to where we are [in the Final].”
The coach said when the team went through some tough times – a mid-season slump that included losses to the Sharks and Lions – Pienaar and Sekekete made the right calls on the field and helped guide the team back into the winners’ circle.
“Ruan plays a big role, with Vic.
“They – and a guy like Robert Ebersohn – are very important to us – with lots of experience.
“He [Ebersohn[ and Jeandre Rudolph, for the forwards, are on the bench and will finish the game for us in that last 20 minutes.
“It is important for us to have good leaders, calm heads and experienced guys on the field in the last 20 minutes.”
(Article continues below the Hawies Fourie interview …)
Pumas coach Jimmy Stonehouse admitted that Tinus de Beer plays the same ‘influential’ playmaker role for the Nelspruit-based outfit.
“When a coach selects his team the spine – tighthead, No.8, No.9, No.10 and fullback – are the vital selections,” Stonehouse said.
“Tinus [de Beer] is the general in our team,” he said, adding: “He is the guys, along with [fullback] Devon [Williams] who make the calls.
“If their kicking games are not on par, and they make the wrong calls, we have real trouble.
“However, if they are on song – as they were in the last two games – it will be an incredible Final, producing great rugby.”
The 88-times capped Bok, Pienaar, will turn 40 in March next year.
His ability to kick with both feet and well-trained passing game are other attributes that make him the most valuable asset for the Cheetahs.
Pienaar, who made his Bok debut as a 22-years-old against New Zealand at Loftus Versfeld in 2006, played the last of his 88 Tests against Argentina in the World Cup third-place play-off in London in 2015 at age 31.
Pienaar, a devout Christian and laidback off the field, the travelled South African was moulded at Grey College, a school known for producing Springboks.
He then kicked off his professional career in Durban with the Sharks in 2004.
In 2010 he moved abroad to Ulster.
He decided to make the move to Montpellier at the end of the 2017 season and after two years he finally decided to return home to South Africa.
The venturesome Pienaar has had an eventful career, and after almost 20 years, he is still going strong.
De Beer, by contrast, is only 27 and has yet to live up to the promise he showed when he played for the South African schools team (2014) and the SA Under-20 side (2015).
The Wales-bound De Beer never quite got a foothold at the Bulls in Pretoria and by 2019 moved to Griquas in Kimberley.
However, it is his performances in the Pumas No.10 jersey the past two seasons that attracted the attention of the Welsh region Cardiff.
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