Pumas v Griquas - Teams and Prediction
RUMBLE IN NELSPRUIT: Griquas will have their work cut out for them if they want to build on last weekend’s impressive victory over the Cheetahs.
The men from Kimberley will travel to the Lowveld for a tough fixture against the Pumas in a Currie Cup Round Three fixture on Friday.
The men from Mpumalanga have had a great start to the competition, with a big win over the Lions in the opening round before they made the Bulls sweat for victory in Pretoria, leaving Loftus Versfeld with a losing bonus point.
The last time the Peacock Blues travelled to Mbombela Stadium, in December last year, they lost 17-22 and conceding a penalty try in the process.
However, Eduan Keyter will have fond memories of that match as the Griquas flyer scored both his team’s tries.
The Pumas’ pack laid the foundation that night and they will be looking for more of the same on Friday.
Western Province moved to the top of the Currie Cup Premier Division standings after a hard-fought victory over the Sharks in Cape Town on Wednesday, but the Pumas can overtake the Capetonians with a bonus-point win in Nelspruit.
With less than three rounds completed, there are no unbeaten teams left in the competition, underlining the tight nature of the Currie Cup.
After three matches, Western Province are on 11 points, followed by the Bulls (10), Sharks (seven after two matches) and Pumas (six after two matches).
Round Three’s other Currie Cup Premier Division match between the Cheetahs and Bulls, which was scheduled for Bloemfontein on Wednesday, was cancelled in line with COVID-19 protocols.
The decision to cancel the Bloemfontein game was prompted by positive tests in the Cheetahs team.
As determined by the competition rules, the Bulls were awarded four log points because of the cancellation.
Last 10 Currie Cup encounters:
2011: Pumas won 34-31, Kimberley
2014: Pumas won 33-15, Nelspruit
2014: Griquas won 31-27, Kimberley
2015: Griquas won 32-15, Kimberley
2016: Griquas won 41-35, Nelspruit
2017: Pumas won 27-21, Kimberley
2017: Griquas won 38-35, Nelspruit
2018: Pumas won 42-19, Nelspruit
2019: Griquas won 37-29, Kimberley
2020: Pumas won 22-17, Nelspruit
Prediction
@rugby365com: Pumas by 10 points.
Teams:
Pumas: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Tapiwa Mafura, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Matt More, 11 Etienne Taljaard, 10 Eddie Fouché, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Phumzile Maqondwana, 6 Francois Kleinhans, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren (captain), 4 Darrien Landsberg, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Dewald Maritz.
Replacements: 16 Hendrik van Schoor, 17 Eduan Swart, 18 Ruan Kramer, 19 Brandon Valentyn, 20 Kwanda Dimaza, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Wayne van der Bank, 23 Jade Stighling.
Griquas: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Jay-Cee Nel, 12 Andre Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Hanru Sirgel, 7 Sibabalo Qoma, 6 Ruan Steenkamp (captain), 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Jeandré Leonard, 3 Andries Schutte, 2 Hendrick Luus, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel.
Replacements – from: 16 Janco Uys, 17 Nqobisizwe Mxoli, 18 Tijde Visser, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Gideon van der Merwe, 21 Raegan Oranje, 22 Theo Boshoff, 23 Ederies Arendse, 24 Tiaan van der Merwe, 25 Henco Beukes, 26 Chris Hollis.
Date: Friday, July 2
Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: 16.00 (14.00 GMT)
Referee: Griffin Colby
Assistant referees: Local
TMO: Ben Crouse
Source: SA Rugby
