Pumas stun Cheetahs to book Currie Cup Final date with Griquas

MATCH REPORT: The Pumas upset the Cheetahs to record a narrow 27-24 Currie Cup semifinal victory in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

The Pumas will travel to Kimberley to face the defending champions Griquas in the final, a team they defeated in the SA Cup Final earlier this season.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

Following a scrappy opening sequence from both sides, the Cheetahs opened the scoring by means of a Jaco van der Walt penalty goal in the 18th minute.

The hosts extended their lead in the 34th minute through a rolling maul try by Ramon Uys following a sequence of scrum penalties conceded by the Pumas. Van der Walt’s conversion made it 10-0.

Following a mistake from the restart, the Pumas retained possession for multiple phases and earned a penalty for a no-arms tackle against try scorer Uys.

The Pumas opted for the line-out but made a mess of it as the Cheetahs got out of jail.

The visitors soon after won another penalty outside the Cheetahs’ 22 and opted for posts this time around, with Clinton Swart putting his side on the scoreboard.

Continues below…

The Pumas drew first blood in the second half following a stolen line-out to set Darren Adonis up for a try in the corner. Swart nailed the sideline conversion kick to level matters at 10-10 after 44 minutes of play.

The visitors took the lead for the first time in the 52nd minute through a try by Andre Goedhals after a solid passage of play from outside the Cheetahs’ 22. Swart added the extras to make it a seven-point lead.

The Cheetahs responded by means of a rolling maul try through hooker Marko Janse van Rensburg in the 55th minute. Van der Walt levelled matters following his conversion kick.

The see-saw battle continued when Gustav du Rand dotted down from a rolling maul in the 62nd minute, with Swart keeping his 100 percent record from the tee to restore the seven-point lead.

A comedy of errors following an initial stolen line-out saw Carel-Jan Coetzee gather a loose ball to dive in under the posts. Van der Walt levelled matters once more to 24-24 after 67 minutes.

The Pumas got possession back following a counter ruck after the restart and won a penalty for offside in the process.

Swart lined up the penalty kick to put his side in front by three points with 10 minutes of play left.

The drama continued when the Cheetahs won a penalty for holding on, but opted against the gift of three points in front of the posts by going for the line-out.

The decision backfired as the Pumas legally sacked the maul to win the defensive scrum feed.

The Cheetahs launched one final attack from deep, but the Pumas won a breakdown penalty through Sango Xamlashe to send his team into the Currie Cup Final.

Scorers:

For Cheetahs:
Tries: Uys, Janse van Rensburg, Coetzee
Cons: Van der Walt 3
Pens: Van der Walt

For Pumas:
Tries: Adonis, Goedhals, Du Rand
Cons: Swart 3
Pens: Swart 2

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Cohan Jasper, 14 Michael Annies, 13 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Prince Nkabinde, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Neels Volschenk (captain), 7 Simon Miller, 6 Ramon Uys, 5 Victor Sekekete, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Frankie Dos Reis, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Tebogo Nkosi.
Replacements: 16 Stefan Venter, 17 Matome Manyama, 18 John-Kelly Okonkwo, 19 Arno van der Merwe, 20 Sisonke Vumazonke, 21 Daniel Maartens, 22 Litha Nkula, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren.

Pumas: 15 Jaycee Nel, 14 Darren Adonis, 13 Sango Xamlashe (vice-captain), 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Banie Britz, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Andre Goedhals, 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Chyle van Zyl, 1 Zukisa Sali
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Etienne Janeke, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Stephan Krugel, 20 Ruwald van der Merwe, 21 Ntsika Fisanti, 22 Tino Swanepoel, 23 Russwill Fredericks