Pumas thrash wasteful Stormers

MATCH REPORT: The Pumas pushed their credentials for a Currie Cup semifinal spot following a convincing 29-7 bonus-point victory over the Stormers XXIII at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

Similarly, the Stormers’ season is hanging by a thread with two rounds remaining, with the old foe Bulls awaiting at Loftus Versfeld next weekend.

The win sees the Pumas go into second position ahead of the Cheetahs’ clash against the Bulls on Sunday.

The Stormers were their own worst enemy, with poor work at the line-out and overall poor handling and execution.

The Pumas’ breakdown work proved to be a massive part in this victory as they denied the visitors on several occasions when they looked dangerous on attack.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Stormers were denied an early try after being held up over the line.

The Pumas recorded the opening points through the boot of Nevaldo Fleurs in the ninth minute after Joel Leotlea conceded the penalty for a high tackle.

Stefan Ungerer went off in the 24th minute with what appeared to be a broken arm or dislocated shoulder.

The hosts scored the first try of the match from broken play in the 32nd minute through Thomas Bursey after absorbing several passages of attack from the Capetonians. Fleurs made it 10-0 following the conversion.

A late first-half penalty for obstruction against the Stormers inside their own 22 proved to be costly as Banie Britz scored from a crossfield kick by Fleurs in the 39th minute to send the hosts to the sheds by 15 points up.

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Things went from bad to worse when Stormers captain Jean-Luc du Plessis went off with a suspected injured wrist in the 43rd minute.

A linebreak by Markus Muller inside the Pumas’ 22 saw him set former BlitzBok Mfundo Ndlovu up to get the Stormers on the scoreboard in the 52nd minute. Kyle Smith landed the conversion to make it an eight-point game.

The Pumas replied three minutes later with a rolling maul try through Jan-Henning Campher. Fleurs slotted the extras.

The hosts secured the four-try bonus point in the 61st minute after a counter-attack through lock JJ Scheepers, leaving the visitors with a massive mountain to climb as Fleurs added another conversion kick.

The Stormers had ample scoring opportunities in the final 10 minutes, but as the script went throughout the match, they couldn’t convert any of their chances into points.

Scorers:

For Pumas:
Tries: Bursey, Britz, Campher, Scheepers
Cons: Fleurs 3
Pen: Fleurs

For Stormers XXIII:
Try: Ndhlovu
Con: Smith

Teams:

Pumas: 15 Tino Swanepoel, 14 Alfondso Isaacs, 13 Sango Xamlashe (vice-captain), 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Banie Britz, 10 Nevaldo Fleurs, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Chyle van Zyl, 1 Etienne Janeke
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Zukisa Sali, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Andre Goedhals, 20 De Wet Marais, 21 Russell Fredericks, 22 Jaycee Nel, 23 Darren Adonis

Stormers XXIII: 15 JC Mars, 14 Joel Leotlela, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Mfundo Ndhlovu, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis (captain), 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Louw Nel, 6 Keke Morabe, 5 Gary Porter, 4 Tom Barnard, 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Vernon Paulo, 1 Mhleli Khuzwayo
Replacements: 16 Altus Rabe, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Danie Kruger, 19 Luan Botha, 20 Xola Nyali, 21 Ezekiel Ngobeni, 22 Kyle Smith, 23 Gino Cupido

Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Giana Viljoen, Stiaan Marx
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen